10 Jul 2009 Outrage of the Day: Obama’s Unkept Tax Promise

Although I don’t endorse every sentiment in every sentence of this Associated Press article “PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama’s Unkept Tax Pledge” by Stephen Ohlemacher, it’s well worth reading.

The piece begins:

President Barack Obama promised to fix health care and trim the federal budget deficit, all without raising taxes on anyone but the wealthiest Americans. It’s a promise he’s already broken and will likely have to break again.Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress have already increased tobacco taxes – which disproportionately hit the poor – to pay for extending health coverage to 4 million children in working low-income families.

Now, lawmakers are looking for more revenues to help pay for providing medical insurance to millions more who lack it at a projected cost of $1 trillion over the next decade.

The floated proposals include increasing taxes on alcohol, which could raise $62 billion over the next decade, and a new tax on sugary drinks such as soda, which could raise $52 billion…

I recommend reading the whole thing.