Politics

Obama Could Single-Handedly Stop Middle Class Tax Increases… But He Won’t

Dec. 12, 2012 4:00pm

Kayleigh McEnany is a writer and political activist who founded RealReaganConservative.com. She is also a contributor to the International Business Times. She graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and studied at Oxford University.

McEnany: Obama Could Single Handedly Stop Middle Class Tax Increases… But He Won’t

President Obama has spent the last month on a PR tour across the country, crusading against the evil Republicans who will allow middle class taxes to go up on January 1. But here’s the little-acknowledged truth – Obama has the power to stop middle class tax increases singlehandedly… but he won’t.

It’s no secret that Obama is a staunch proponent of abusing presidential power. His chief means of doing so is the executive order. But the executive order, while rooted in the Constitution, does not grant the president the power to overturn laws of Congress simply because he happens to disagree with them.

In typical unconstitutional fashion, the president has done just this on several occasions.

In February of 2011, Obama ordered his Justice Department to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that passed both Houses by a large majority and was signed into law by President Clinton. In June, the president chose not to enforce part of federal immigration law when he ordered that young illegal immigrants be permitted to remain in the United States, and he basically repealed the No Child Left Behind Act by granting at least 34 state waivers.

In short, the president has a proven track record of acting like a king rather than a president as he disregards the system of checks and balances American government was founded upon.

All of this leads me to ask a very important question – if the president is so fond of overturning laws he disagrees with via executive order, why then has he made no effort to overturn the middle class tax increases set to take into effect on January 1?

You see, the president could, in fact, do this as he’s done before with other laws he found unpalatable. In a National Review article about the dangers of executive overreach, John Yoo, a former official in the United States Justice Department, astutely observed this key point: “President Romney could lower tax rates simply by saying he will not use enforcement resources to prosecute anyone who refuses to pay capital-gains tax.”

Obama, too, could do this to avert the “fiscal cliff,” which is set to increase middle class taxes anywhere from $500 to $3,000.

If the president’s true priority was stopping middle class tax increases, right or wrong, he would do so via executive order as he did with the Defense of Marriage Act, immigration, and the No Child Left Behind Act. He has abused executive authority in all of these cases, so why not do so for the middle class?

The answer is simple. For the president, this is all a political game. He wants taxes to go up on the middle class. He wants to go over the fiscal cliff. He wants all of this to transpire so he can blame Republicans next year.

Meanwhile, the reality is that the blame lies squarely with the president. Republicans have already tried to compromise by putting revenues on the table. Obama has made no similar attempt to come to the middle. In the end, it’s the president who is holding the middle class hostage.

Oh the irony when Obama said to Barbara Walters on Tuesday, “I’m pretty confident that Republicans would not hold middle class taxes hostage to trying to protect tax cuts for high-income individuals.”

So if the president could technically lower tax rates via executive order, the next logical question is this—if he refuses to enforce laws because of policy disagreements, and he evidently plans to enforce higher tax rates on the middle class, does that mean he agrees with that new policy? Or is the president playing politics on the backs of the middle class? Neither alternative is acceptable.

On Obama’s PR tour he asked this question to a crowd of workers in Detroit: “How many of you can afford to pay another $2,200?”  The answer, Mr. President, is none of us. The ball is in your court.

 

Comments (7)

  • TheBigDog
    Dec. 13, 2012 at 3:11pm

    This is spot on. If Comrade Obama cared about the middle class at all, he would assure everyone that he will protect the middle class from tax hikes, by any means necessary. Instead, we are a mere bargaining chip in his quest to create a socialist America. It’s just despicable that Obama would use the executive order to help illegal immigrants, but not middle class Americans. Well said, Kayleigh.

    Report this comment

    TheBigDog  
  • ranepowel
    Dec. 13, 2012 at 1:50pm

    Too bad polls show that people will blame the GOP for going off the fiscal cliff. Polls still show something like 70% of the country wants the GOP to just go along with the Presidents plan on this and save the fighting for another day.

    Plus, the GOP has still yet to come forward with specific cuts. There are no specifics listed in their paper-thin “we’ll close loopholes” b.s. either.

    Report this comment

    ranepowel  
    • spfoam1
      Dec. 13, 2012 at 3:04pm

      What are the specific details in your messiahs plan? The democrats set this whole thing up, they had a supermajority and put this in place, so they are the ones who want everyone to pay more taxes. Pull your head out. The democrats haven’t even had a budget for four years.

      Report this comment

      spfoam1  
  • watashbuddyfriend
    Dec. 13, 2012 at 12:52pm

    Ok, The House of Reps., it is time to stand up for your people! Just use the Power of the Purse; defund the pay and expenses of ALL Obama Czars!
    Defund Obamacare,
    Defund the NLRB,
    Defund the Deptmartment of Education,
    Defund the TSA,
    Defund the FEMA, and more, but ….

    Report this comment

    watashbuddyfriend  
  • Canada_Goose
    Dec. 13, 2012 at 12:17pm

    On many levels this is the dumbest piece of commentary I’ve ever read on The Blaze and that’s saying a lot. I don’t have the time or the inclination to list all the factual errors and just plain absurdity of this piece. I just have to assume that Ms. McEnany, or more accurately, Ms.McInaney was having a blond moment.

    Report this comment

    Canada_Goose  
    • spfoam1
      Dec. 13, 2012 at 3:06pm

      No one here gives a flip what some socialist dumbarse from Canada thinks.

      Report this comment

      spfoam1  
  • JRGJR
    Dec. 13, 2012 at 10:03am

    SSDD for this Presidunce.

    Report this comment

    JRGJR  

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