Shared sacrifice is not $41 in new taxes for every $1 spending cut. Here's just a few things you must not have heard during his campaigning (2008 and 2012): Require automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans Require automatic enrollment in IRA plans Require publicly traded financial partnerships to pay the corporate income tax Expand the child and dependent care credit Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes Close loopholes in the corporate tax deductibility of CEO pay Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners Provide option for a pre-filled-out tax form Create a mortgage interest tax credit for non-itemizers End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 Create a retirement savings tax credit for low incomes End no-bid contracts above $25,000 Create a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges Tax carried interest as ordinary income Sign the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize Lift the payroll tax cap on earnings above $250,000 Forbid companies in bankruptcy from giving executives bonuses Allow workers to claim more in unpaid wages and benefits in bankruptcy court Require full disclosure of company pension investments to employees Allow imported prescription drugs Prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices Appoint federal-level coordinator to oversee all federal autism efforts Double federal funding for cancer research Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive study of federal cancer initiatives Provide the CDC $50 million in new funding to determine the most effective approaches for cancer patient care Sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Create a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, and Social Security Change federal rules so small businesses owned by people with disabilities can get preferential treatment for federal contracts. Reduce the threshhold for the Family and Medical Leave Act from companies with 50 employees to companies with 25 employees Provide a $1.5 billion fund to help states launch programs for paid family and medical leave Require employers to provide seven paid sick days per year Amend the Medicare "homebound" rule to allow some travel without loss of benefits Reduce the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog Expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include leave for domestic violence or sexual assault Form international group to help Iraq refugees Provide at least $2 billion for services to Iraqi refugees Work with Russia to move nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert Clarify legal status for defense contractor personnel Double U.S. spending on foreign aid to $50 billion a year by 2012 Establish a Global Education Fund Launch a new 'America's Voice Corps' Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center Develop an alternative to President Bush's Military Commissions Act on handling detainees Restore habeas corpus rights for "enemy combatants" Establish regulations to secure chemical plants Improve port security through better radiation detection Strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and double its budget in the next four years Secure ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Require companies to disclose personal information data breaches Seek to negotiate a political agreement on Cyprus Create loan sanctions to stop private creditors from lending to repressive regimes With the G-8, launch Health Infrastructure 2020 Reinstate special envoy for the Americas Double the Peace Corps Seek independent watchdog agency to investigate congressional ethics violations Create a public "Contracts and Influence" database Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny Allow five days of public comment before signing bills Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials Double funding for Federal Charter School Program and require more accountability Double funding for afterschool programs Support college credit initiatives Create scholarships to recruit new teachers Regulate pollution from major livestock operations Expand the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity Urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws Support repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Sign the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act into law Eliminate caps on damages for discrimination cases Ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies Encourage videotaping of interrogations in capital cases Create a prison-to-work incentive program Allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of a home mortgage Increase the supply of affordable housing throughout metropolitan regions Increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour Restore Superfund program so that polluters pay for clean-ups Fully fund the COPS program Support tax deduction for artists Re-establish the National Aeronautics and Space Council Support human mission to moon by 2020 Direct revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to increased coastal hurricane protection Provide incentives to draw employers into areas hardest-hit by Katrina Create a national catastrophe insurance reserve Establish a Global Energy Corps to promote green energy in developing countries Expand service-learning in schools Pay for the national service plan without increasing the deficit Seek treaty to control fissile materials Encourage diversity in media ownership Improve and prioritize student science assessments Reduce the number of middle managers in the federal workforce Limit subsidies for agribusiness Strengthen anti-monopoly laws to favor independent farmers Give tax incentives to new farmers Strengthen the Age Discrimination in Employment Act Limit term of director of national intelligence Call for a consultative group of congressional leaders on national security Give annual "State of the World" address Reduce earmarks to 1994 levels Work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers Establish a low carbon fuel standard Require 25 percent renewable energy by 2025 Enact windfall profits tax for oil companies Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming Use revenue from cap and trade to support clean energy and environmental restoration Require plug-in fleet at the White House Require new federal fleet purchases to be half plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles Require more flex-fuel cars for the federal government Mandate flexible fuel vehicles by 2012 Double federal program to help "reverse" commuters who go from city to suburbs Require energy conservation in use of transportation dollars Provide an annual report on "state of our energy future" Devote federal resources to promote cellulosic ethanol Sign the Freedom of Choice Act Allow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009 Give the White House's Privacy and Civil Liberties Board subpoena power Recognize the Armenian genocide No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase." Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance Exchange. Cut the cost of a typical family's health insurance premium by up to $2,500 a year Bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda Introduce a comprehensive immigration bill in the first year The emphasis is mine. Now mind you, many of those I'm glad he didn't actually follow through on, but definitely don't say he's just doing what he said he'd do. He has a long way to go before anyone can claim that. Now put that Kool Aid down. PS: I'm middle class. My taxes are going up a lot. I'd be okay with that if cuts vs new taxes was dollar for dollar. But taxing me to pay for social programs instead of making cuts is not helping the middle class.
