ATF: Obama breaks another campaign promise
September 16, 2009 by Personal Liberty News Desk
The anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform (ATF) has said that by placing a new tariff on tire imports from China, President Obama has broken his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on Americans making less than $250,000 a year.
It also alleged that bowing to pressure from labor unions, the president has put additional burden on already cash-strapped American families.
Grover Norquist, president of ATF, says a tariff is a tax on consumers. "This decision will drive up the cost of tires, increasing the economic burden on families already struggling with the high cost of transportation," he stresses.
The organization adds that because the tariffs will be applied to low-end tires (costing $50-$60), low-income families and individuals will be the most affected.
Last week, President Obama authorized a 35 percent tariff on Chinese tire imports in an effort to stem a surge of foreign-made tires on the U.S. market, which some have said cost 7,000 jobs here in America, according to Asia Times.
United Steelworkers president Leo W. Gerard praised the decision saying the president has "made [it] clear that he will enforce America’s trade laws and stand with American workers."
However, the move attracted criticism from free-trade and free-market supporters who expressed concerns it could spark a trade war of retaliatory tariffs and spur a protectionist trend in U.S. trade policy. 
I may be ignorant of this, but I don’t get how trying to protect American interests is breaking a campaign promise of not raising taxes on the middle class. Hell congress/senate won’t be extending any of the tax breaks given during the Bush years, yes some of them helped get us here, but the ones for middle or lower class will be the same thing. Will they then say he broke this promise yet again when all he did was allow a program to run it’s course and not renew it? I am not saying I agree with his change of this polcy, I just don’t get this connection.
ignorance is no defence in these matters. read up and become educated. A lie is a lie in any color.
China is a COMMUNIST country and is no friend of the US. It’s amazing how we can go to war to try to force democracy on countries that will never accept it. But when it comes to a real threat from China, we ignore all principles and go for the big profits. Slave labor is not available in the US. We need more tariffs on Chinese goods and more government regulation on giving the ChiComs our technology.
This article is a complete stretch. By ensuring the stimulus package only uses American made products and suppliers, you are costing more for products if it can be produced somewhere else cheaper. This is a stupid rationale and illogical. This tariff is to protect US jobs not increase tax
The truth is that this is another big labor payback. If we had a real MSM these kickbacks would be obvious to everyone.
James, as long as American media whores are allowed to be whores, nothing will change. It has been obvious for a long time that ABC, CBS, and NBC and the rest of the predictable swine are addicted to ‘pc news.’
They have no motivation to report the real news. They are paid lots of money to lie, ignore and distort.
It was common knowledge back in the ’30s that American ‘journalists’ were literally for sale. We can get more objective news from high school kids and college newspapers. I plan to celebrate when the major newspapers are history. They did it to themselves, and their reward is to be thrown on the nearest dung heap. Some of them might be considered as potential czars (no qualifications, no talent, candidates for long-term therapy, true ‘legends in their own minds’).
Tarrifs on Chneese goods counter the subsidies the Chineese govt pushes through internally. Also we need to slap a like for like policy on trade. Free trade with Korea on cars consites of no limit imports to us and a limit of 7k on American cars. A trade war will hurt them more than us. Maybe at first it would hurt alot as we get kickstatred internally to make things again but once we get cracking I would like to see the worlds face when they all get the teet pulled out of their mouth and start wailing like a baby. Good grief lets get back to work and stop all the nonsense
I am low income and would gladly pay more for tires if it stops imports and gets America back to work. We need to make our own products and be independent of other hostile countries and quit sending our jobs out of U S.
Tammy, as long as Washington is what it is (a den of overpaid prostitutes), the best we can do is to slow down the process. When jobs are lost and go overseas, those who let the jobs go overseas should be FORCED to ‘go with them.’
We do not need ‘leaders’ who want to globalize. When we play that game, America LOSES. It is a dumbing-down process, and it took us a long time to figure out that losing jobs is worse than stupid. The trick is to make elected losers ACCOUNTABLE to us. Unless or until we do that, the lost jobs topic can’t be solved or eased.
Good intentions keeps congressional losers in office. The threat of immediate retaliation will SOLVE the problem.
S.C.
Are you saying that Obama did something right or are you blaming him for the past legislation that has already given away this country? I can’t figure out if you are glad, or if you are considering this a tax like the rest of the Republicans do?
Tammy,
glad to hear that, I am surprised that you didn’t view it as a tax. Love your attitude.
I love the comments above, they are so right
I say bring back all the jobs from over seas, we where in great shape before they sent jobs out of the United States, Just ask me Iam 73 years old and i know.
Put the money back in social security that they took from the Bush to finance the war, that we should not have been in.
all of the above comments are correct. this type of media is just lynchmob behavior creating fault where there is none. there is no law that says you HAVE to buy tires made in china. so you CAN avoid paying the tarrif. and if you do that, then you create demand for american made products which means americans can go back to work. it seems this the author of this article is a fan and practitioner of “Fuzzy Math” and a member of the Party of No.
IF OBAMA ACTUALLY DID MORE STUFF LIKE THIS. MORE PEOPLE WOULD GET OFF HIS BACK.. IF ONE WERE TO CONSIDER THE 2500 DISPLACED COOPER TIER WORKERS AND THE LOSS OF AMERICAN JOBS DUE TO OUR GLORIOUS ELECTED OFFICIALS SELLING OUR COUNTRY WHILE THEY SMILE AND WAVE.
THIS DECISION WAS NOT OBJECTIONABLE.
BUT STILL KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.
This president is so clueless when it comes to any free-market Capitalist enterprise! Does he not realize that the larger percentage of American company tires are now made in China as well? If he doesn’t understand the industry, he should just stay OUT OF IT!!!
Folks there is so much involved here. The most important outcome could be upsetting the Chinese and others that have to depend on them. Before some of you say “so what”, “who cares” or like said above something like they need us more than we need them then explore and learn more about how our country must have buyers of our debt.You may think because China is communistic that they are not smart. Add on pissing them off and we could have a couple of bond issues with no buyers. Look at it this way where do any of you know of a company whose debt is many times more than what they make and can ever afford, that is so weak it has had to let go of 10% of their work force and still mainyained a AAA rating? That is the US. If our AAA rating does drop it will continue to fuel those that want to change the world to a global currency. We are very vunerable folks. Regardless of whether you voted for Obama or not it would behoove you to look at us in the fiscal sense. BTW if our dollar continues to crash and I cannot see why it won’t then that fuels more debate for a new currency. And think about this our dollar buys less so lets say the bakery needs to charge the amount needed to keep up with how much they have to pay for overhead but that dollar is weaker. Guess what you will get charged more and that is INFLATION the Jimmy Carter style. So now if you voted for Obama it might be a good time for you to take out a piece of paper and write down his promises and check off the ones he has kept. Then write down the ones he has lied about along how they will affect you and your love ones. They (Obama and his bosses) do not care who they will hurt on the way to destruction. Or maybe you liked the legislation passed the other day in which 200,000 Palestinian Hamas (terrorists) will be allowed to move to America given citizenship, a home etc. Google. Start taking notes for what we are about to enter will be known as the twilight zone….
Free market your ass!!!
Bring back the tariffs on all off shore produced goods and services.
What are our soldiers fighting for: Walmarts right to import garbage substandard products from china, home of the scudd missle maker.
American investers are PATHETIC and deserve no protection if they invest in or with communist owned , muslim extremist owned corporations or mexican drug cartel owned corporations and banks!!
Conservatives say they are moral ethical and faithful, but if one of these three ideals get in the way of their investments , well than, nothing else matters but the buck they can make off someone elses blood or sweat.
Refresh my memory, hunter. Do we have anyone in a combat zone who was drafted? No, all of them are there by their own choice.
For me, I don’t like the idea of our military being spread all over the world when fighting is limited to a single area. America is not supposed to to be the world’s prostitute cop!
While you’re at it, ask Queen Pelosi about making serious ‘investments’ in wars that she supposedly hates [until comrade obama approves of them, i. e.].
You need to look at some other angles, hunter. Most of the crap we see is what we’re supposed to see. It’s not what we NEED to see.
All promises and no action! More jobs? Yeah right! Not yet to many other things to deal with. It’ not our duty to hold our goverment accountable it is OUR RESPONSABILTY! Who the hell do these people think they are? They work for YOU and ME, WE DON’T WORK FOR THEM!
How’s that HOPE and CHANGE working for ya now!
WARREN BUFFETT says “the rich need to pay higher taxes”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/warren-buffett.
Every day since his inauguration, the president is constantly on TV, traveling for photo ops etc.etc. What is the cost to us taxpayers for his constant campaining? Seems he loves to hear himself talk. I’d like to see some real action from him and not these way out ideas on how our government should take over our lives. His administration is spending us into oblivion and sooner rather than later, the bill collectors will be at the door. How’s Washington going to pay up? Sell our National Parks and Federal Buildings? Then what? Tax us to the point where it doesn’t pay to work and jump on the freeloader bandwagon of handouts. Oh yeah! I forgot. We’ll just have to tax the rich people in this country. You know the ones making minimum wage and working two jobs to support their family. Kind of makes me sick how this CHANGE is really changing our lives. I think I’ll sneak out of this country and re-enter as an illegal immigrant. This way I get everything I need to sustain life from those sucker US Taxpayer. Please don’t let Nancy Pelosi see this else she’ll have me tracked down for the nazi terrorist she knows I am.
Robert you took the words I was going say right out of my mouth – Good Job
this is another flying political payback to the corrupt unions for helping that racist in cheif get elected.if the unions were thrown out of american industry never to be allowed to step foot on the property again,our manufacturing sector would light up like a room full of gasoline fumes we would be a giant in the world again,no other country could compete with us!!!unions have destroyed american industry,not slave labor from other countries,as soon as we get an americans back running this country,someone with a spine.banning communist unions would instantly solve our unemployment problems.sad but is true,next shop of mine that”whispers the u-word.i will lock the doors forever