Barack Obama would take tax heat off seniors

Barack Obama would take tax heat off seniors
Calcutta News.NetTuesday 12th August, 2008
Barack Obama has suggested senior citizens earning less than $50,000 a year should be freed of their tax burden.Tax policy experts in Washington are giving the idea the thumbs down after the Obama campaign website said the policy would give tax cuts averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors who are battling inflation with mostly fixed incomes. A description of the plan says: 'If you work hard and pay into the system, you've earned the right to a secure retirement.Lower- and middle-income seniors are struggling as their expenses on health and energy skyrocket while their incomes do not keep pace.' But, most low and moderate-income seniors already pay no income tax in the US. Among seniors with incomes below $50,000 who do owe income tax, a significant number have modest incomes because they are retired but possess substantial assets.Washington economists are describing Obama’s tax idea as another subsidy for senior citizens, who already get federal help through Social Security and Medicare.The proposed new tax break for seniors is one of about a dozen tax changes proposed by Obama, including raising rates on people making more than $250,000 a yearBarack Obama would take tax heat off seniors
Calcutta News.NetTuesday 12th August, 2008
Barack Obama has suggested senior citizens earning less than $50,000 a year should be freed of their tax burden.Tax policy experts in Washington are giving the idea the thumbs down after the Obama campaign website said the policy would give tax cuts averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors who are battling inflation with mostly fixed incomes. A description of the plan says: 'If you work hard and pay into the system, you've earned the right to a secure retirement.Lower- and middle-income seniors are struggling as their expenses on health and energy skyrocket while their incomes do not keep pace.' But, most low and moderate-income seniors already pay no income tax in the US. Among seniors with incomes below $50,000 who do owe income tax, a significant number have modest incomes because they are retired but possess substantial assets.Washington economists are describing Obama’s tax idea as another subsidy for senior citizens, who already get federal help through Social Security and Medicare.The proposed new tax break for seniors is one of about a dozen tax changes proposed by Obama, including raising rates on people making more than $250,000 a year

SENIORS NEED A TAX BREAK A COMMENT

What the seniors in this country need is to have a president that will stand up for our rights. Thank you Mr.Obama for pushing this plan. We are the one who made this country great.Remember that above everything else.Republican Party Pushed through the Existing TAX on Social Security Benefits! Do we want more of that? (NO NO NO)

Deal close for combat G.I.s' Iraq exit

Deal close for combat G.I.s' Iraq exit
The Associated Press
Friday, August 8th 2008, 2:37 AM
BAGHDAD - Iraq and the U.S. are nearing a deal in which American combat troops would begin leaving Iraq by October 2010 and be out completely three years after that, two senior Iraqi officials said Thursday.
U.S. officials insisted no dates have been agreed on.
The proposed deal calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad's Green Zone - where the U.S. Embassy is located - to the Iraqis by the end of this year. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30 next year, said the officials, who are both close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and familiar with the negotiations.
The officials said all U.S. combat troops would leave Iraq by October 2010, with the remaining support personnel gone "around 2013."


Muqtada al-Sadr says he won't disband militia without US timetable
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, August 8th 2008, 10:38 AM
BAGHDAD - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said Friday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not established.
The statement — read to worshippers during Friday prayers in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr City — is in line with details revealed earlier this week and appears to be an extension of plans he announced in June aimed at asserting more control over the militia.
"Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group," while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.
He said the announcement was particularly aimed at members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been blamed for some of the worst violence against American troops and rival Sunni Arabs.
Thousands of worshippers streamed out into the streets after the Islamic service, burning an American flag and shouting: "No, no to America. No, no to occupation."
The cleric has linked the reorganization of the Mahdi Army to U.S.-Iraqi negotiations over a long-term agreement that would extend the American presence in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. Al-Sadr and his followers want the deal to include a timeframe for an American withdrawal and have warned they may not suspend operations without such a clauseMuqtada al-Sadr says he won't disband militia without US timetable



Gov. David Paterson signs foreclosure bill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, August 5th 2008, 11:19 AM
Gov. David Paterson has signed legislation giving New Yorkers an extra 90 days to save their homes from foreclosure.
The bill, signed on Tuesday, aims to help homeowners who sought subprime loans.
The 90-day grace period is being added to what is typically a 440-day foreclosure process in New York — the longest in the nation.
Homeowners will now have time to meet with lenders and receive other information on dealing with their debt. The law also strengthens mortgage lending rules.
Foreclosures statewide were up 14 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.
There have been about 50,000 home foreclosures this year. The state estimates another 38,000 homeowners could face foreclosure by the end of the yearGov. David Paterson signs foreclosure bill