Obama’s tax breaks for fat cats (the Michigan View 06.30.11)

Posted by hpayne on June 30, 2011

President Obama went to class war Wednesday, marking budget talks as a clash between children and tax breaks for the wealthy. “Ask Republican constituents if they’re willing to compromise their kids’ safety so some corporate jet owner continues to get a tax break,” said the demagogue-in-chief.

But Chevy Volt-owner and Democratic Senator Carl Levin won’t be giving up his sweet tax break.

Indeed, Obama and Washington Democrats have handed out an unprecedented basket of tax breaks and taxpayer subsidies to politically-connected fat cats since 2009 in the name of greening the planet. The $7,500 welfare that Levin — who makes $165,000 grand a year — got for buying a luxury, $41k Chevy Volt this spring is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Deficit hawk” Obama won’t be ending the gravy train of federal dollars for jet-setting millionaires like Elon Musk either.

Companies like Musk’s Tesla, GM, and South Korea’s LGChem have helped themselves to over $100 billion that Obama has doled out to green firms to make the green products he prefers.

Musk, for example, won’t miss his jet break pocket change after stuffing his wallet with taxpayer millions. Obama’s Energy Dept. handed the Silicon Valley mogul $456 million in low-cost federal loans last year. Washington frowned on Big Three execs’ traveling to DC on corporate jets to grovel for loans, but Musk flew to DC twelve times aboard his corporate jet (travel cost: $175,000 a year) to lobby for his loot.

The federal loan was made to finance production of Tesla’s $60,000 electric Model S sedan.

In fact, Levin’s Michigan colleague Senator Debbie Stabenow wants to do more for the celebrities and pols to buy millionaire Musk’s chariots. Stabenow has proposed expanding the break as a rebate so the rich can claim their cash immediately — instead of waiting around for their tax accountants to ring it up at the end of the year. Levin has done his part, too —introducing legislation that allows the credit to be claimed on 500,000 cars per automaker rather than the current cap of 200,000 (assuming there are enough swells to claim it).

When asked if this is the kind of investment taxpayers should be making in a recession Michigan Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said that it was important to spread the green to a variety of sources so that “they will have broad applications” and transform America to a green economy.

So much for deficit reduction. And the good news for wealthy buyers like Senator Levin? He can claim another $7,500 tax break when he trades up his Volt for a Model S.

It’s for the children.

 

 

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