Cantor says GOP will provide budget alternative
Published: March 15, 2009
Updated: March 15, 2009
WASHINGTON — Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, says the president’s budget plan doesn’t address the needs of small businesses and that the GOP will put forward an alternative.
The representative from Virginia is warning that President Barack Obama’s spending proposal would raise taxes on every American by $800 — the result of new taxes on polluting energy companies and manufacturers.
Cantor says the administration’s long-term view ignores the country’s immediate needs.
The Virginia Republican appeared Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Also appearing on the show was Christina Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said the administration would not rule out taxing health benefits. The New York Times reported Sunday that the administration is considering such a move.
However, Obama’s leading economic advisers say the White House is opposed to taxing health insurance.
As a candidate, Obama opposed such taxes and called them “a multi-trillion dollar tax hike.” Romer says the president remains opposed. But when she was pushed on its during a talk show appearance, she said nothing was being taken off the table.
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Reader Reactions
The GOP is useless. All they want to do is quibble and nibble around the edges of all the spending. In principle they are no alternative to the Democrats. The GOP made its Faustian bargain with ‘big government’ with their own bailout and now they have no legitimacy with many voters. Meanwhile, Obama is against taxing health benefits like he was against earmarks. He ‘deeply’ regrets it all, but in the end….One could say its time for a third party, but the way things run in this country it would only be a 3rd group of influence peddlers competing with everyone else.
Now that Nancy Pelosi has declared her self “not partisan”, we’ll see how much attention this alternative gets. As for you, J-Reb, apparently you weren’t aware the banks nearly melted down in September, as was reported by quite a few economic reporters (all the funds started a run on the cash reserves based on their computer “sell” models, and the Fed shut them down). I didn’t really agree with the amount of money thrown at the problem either (so I’m with you so far as Bush’s overstepping the case), but I REALLY didn’t agree with any of the “stimulus”, which did nothing to actually create jobs or help the economy.
Somebody may want to clue Mitch McConnell in. He apparently had no clue that an alternative budget would be presented in either house when he was interviewed by Stephanopolus today. Cantor, better make sure that budget is comprehensive and makes sense. Seems unlikely for a public servant of your caliber but try
Cantor voted FOR all the bailouts while Bush was still president….right up until Barack was inaugurated. Now he changes his tune. And the people around here re-elected Cantor so they have no right to complain.
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