After last night's House 'fiscal cliff' vote, the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, the largest independent Tea Party group in the tri-state region, is calling on Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) to step aside as Speaker of the House.
The Association is also roundly criticizing the area's Congressional delegation--both Democrats and Republicans--for raising nearly everyone's taxes.
The 'fiscal cliff' bill, which allows the Bush tax cuts to expire on those individuals making $400,000 or more while making the Bush tax rates permanent on those making less, also permits the 2% Social Security payroll tax deduction to expire on wage earners--which means that working Americans will be paying more in taxes effective immediately.
"The New Year got off to a bad start as President Obama lied to the American people by saying that taxes were only rising on the top two percent of all wage earners," said Association President Teri Adams.
"The real truth is that taxes are going up for most middle income families and that Americans are taxed enough already.
"A worker making $50,000 in 2013 can expect to pay $1000 more in payroll
taxes. It's obvious that this tax increase will negatively impact our consumer-driven economy and will be used to fund new federal spending--not to reduce the deficit.
"We need to grow the economy by providing economic incentives. Raising taxes is not an incentive--it's a decentive. With our national debt at $16.5 trillion and rising, it is clear we have an out of control spending crisis.
"In negotiations, Democrats took Republicans to the cleaners. The Democrats raised taxes by nearly a trillion dollars on almost everyone (and lied about it), offered no real spending cuts, extended unemployment benefits, and successfully postured themselves as the Robin Hood heroes of the middle class.
"Speaker Boehner and our local congressional delegation went along with this charade. All but Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) voted in favor of the 'deal' and he did so only because he wanted broader taxes," Ms. Adams said.
"To say that we are disappointed in our local Republican delegation would be an understatement. But we realize, however, that they were at the mercy of Speaker Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-TN).
"That is why we think the Speaker should step aside. In negotiations, he has shown himself to be inferior to the Democrat leadership and the President.
"On top of poor negotiating skills, he has been unable to keep House Republicans together. Last week, he could not get a majority of them to vote favorably on his 'Plan B' initiative--and today, by a nearly 2-1 margin, he lost their vote on the 'fiscal cliff' bill.
"At this point, it might be wise to elect a new leader--perhaps Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA). A fresh perspective and voice might just the thing to upset the liberal Democrat apple cart.
"And it also doesn't hurt that House Majority Leader Cantor voted 'no' on the 'fiscal cliff' deal," she added.
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