Austan Goolsbee Trashes GOP Tax Plan Using White Board (VIDEO)

Austan Goolsbee, the new chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, is the star of a new video which outlines the administration's view on the increasingly contentious tax cut debate. In the first edition of the "White House White Board," Goolsbee borrows a page from the graphical presentation styles of NPR and even, it seems, from Glenn Beck.

From Goolsbee's presentation:

"Obama's [tax plan] would preserve a couple thousand dollars per year for virtually all Americans. And even for people who make a lot they get to keep the tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. Under the Republican plan however, people making over $1 million per year are going to be getting a tax cut of more than $100,000. That's expensive..."

On the White House's blog, Jesse Lee added this talking point: "We simply can't afford to give the wealthiest Americans these big tax cuts that would add to our deficit and, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, be just about the least effective way to grow our economy and help create jobs."

WATCH the video:

Comments

[John Giblin]

12:54 AM on 10/21/2010

This is really sad that he is the Chief Economic adviser.

Let me start of saying that I am not in the >250 bracket or even close. And I am a registered Independent.

First of all this argument is clearly meant to deceive people. and this is coming from a president that has maintain he wants to be transparent. By putting that big red circle he is trying to tell you that the top bracket is getting this huge break. What does he fail to give you the facts. Like the top 1% of people pay 38% of the taxes and the top 5% pays more then 50%. I guess he doesn't feel like that is enough,

Lets also talk about fairness. If there was a flat tax, then everyone pay the same percentage of that we make. But as it is now, not only does the upper bracket have to pay more, but more percentage.

The top percentage has been largely responsible for starting business and creating jobs.

Personally I think the tax code should be simplified. I don't have issue with the upper bracket paying a higher percentage.

[ancientmarinader]

12:46 PM on 11/11/2010

No one should get to keep the tax cuts but since people are dedicated to getting free things, killing the middle class cuts seems unlikely.

Alan Greenspan, Reagan's budget chief Stockman, and the CBO all agree. We can't afford these tax cuts.

[UnknownSolider]

02:26 PM on 11/11/2010

OK, blah, blah, blah
The Tax Cuts have been in place for 10 Years, where are the Jobs??? They don't work, all these Tax Cuts did was create an environment where people speculated on certain sectors fo the economy in effort to make more money without creating jobs or economic growth, how about we use the income from those Taxes to pay down the Debt

[Skeetshooter]

05:00 PM on 10/03/2010

Only problem with trying to reason with crazy people is that disagreeing with their misapprehensions tends to reinforce their delusion. I'm not saying we shouldn't try, only that the bulk of our electorate has not yet come to terms with the situation we have created by refusing to pay appropriate taxes. Where are the grownups? Voodoo economics are eating our brains, and armed zombies are on the march. Denial is not just a river in Egypt; its also a river running right through the American heartland and into the doors of congress.

[Seán O'Nilbud]

10:25 AM on 10/02/2010

Before any of you republican teabaggers do it I'd just like to point out that it's the Democratic party not the Democrat party. A lot of you use the fact of your illiteracy to cover up plagiarizing a Frank Lutz line. You must realize that everyone on the planet knows what you're doing and every time it happens we can imagine the drool on your chin glistening as you make that half inhaling half barking noise which indicates you're hurting something, or happy.
I'll write it here a few times so you can get it out of your system:
Democrat party
Democrat party
Democrat party (hyuck hyuck hyuck)

[demsrsilly]

09:52 PM on 10/01/2010

is this the guy that wanted to put some form of birth control in drinking water?

[Seán O'Nilbud]

10:09 AM on 10/02/2010

No. You people are ridiculous.

[ancientmarinader]

12:47 PM on 11/11/2010

He wanted to burn the bible and insitute Sharia law. Page 14 of the wingnut liars manual.

[VikingQuest]

06:37 PM on 10/01/2010

No wonder this country has such poor testing numbers on math.

Here is Austan's argument in the video: "we simply can't afford" $3.9 trillion to be added to the debt but we are promoting adding $3.2 trillion to the debt.

His logic makes no sense.

[Seán O'Nilbud]

10:10 AM on 10/02/2010

No you're too uneducated or illiterate to understand. You should have paid more attention.

[babyspittle]

10:25 PM on 10/02/2010

those are the two choices.

I prefer less in debt with the dems

[metogamekun]

06:33 PM on 10/01/2010

Before we get all hyped up on the "small business" thing, let's look at how the government defines small business.

http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf

Sure there are "mom and pop" firms out there, but I doubt there are many 100-500 employee companies where the business owner still mixes personal and business taxes. I'd like to see a little more honesty and statistical evidence from both sides as they toss the "small business" football around.

[maslin]

05:52 PM on 10/01/2010

'Doesn't make sense, costs too much money, and we know it doesn't work.'

Sounds a lot like the Iraq project to me.

[UNLVGOP]

12:58 PM on 10/01/2010

If they wanna talk about deficits in this video...they should also display a chart of Obama's spending projections. Not enough red ink to make that chart though.

He's already added $3 Trillion to the debt in 2 years. It took Bush 8 years to add $5 Trillion.

[JudgeCCrater]

01:06 PM on 10/01/2010

Yeah, the Bush recession really sucks. And two Bush Wars don't help either.

[Paul Rainwater]

01:33 PM on 10/01/2010

Please post links/references to back up your deficits statements, I would like to see a non partisan breakdown on these numbers...

[Liberal2009]

05:15 PM on 10/01/2010

He can't non of them can

[UNLVGOP]

12:50 PM on 10/01/2010

$70B a year is too much money? Really? The tax cuts only represent 5% of the deficit. It's not gonna be that noticeable.

Also, if we can't find a way to cut $70 Billion out of nearly $4 Trillion in government spending....we're screwed.

[johnstarks]

01:14 PM on 10/01/2010

$700B not $70B. If I'm not mistaken, that's the amount the Republicans poo-pooed about for the stimulus which kept the economy from a complete freefall. Difference is that the tax cuts would be for every year. The stimulus was a one time deal.

[Tyrione]

02:07 PM on 10/01/2010

$700 Billion from 2000-2010 that should have not been absorbed by the country as future debt.

[ebroadcast]

12:32 PM on 10/01/2010

Pretty pictures!

[rakrobn]

10:48 AM on 10/01/2010

Finally the White House is talking in terms that the average American can understand, and for a Faux News viewer, in terms that even a mentally deficient troglodyte inhaling spray can fumes can understand.

[kdlaiusa]

01:13 PM on 10/02/2010

Farts Noise will still distort it no matter what. They will complicate the simplified and simplify the complicated.

[Martha Fair]

10:31 AM on 10/01/2010

This chart is great for the people who watch Fox News. Puts the tax cuts in perspective so that even the people with small minds can understand and comprehend.

[Drash]

10:25 AM on 10/01/2010

A lot of people, particularly Baggers, are simple-minded and visually-oriented. This video addresses that fact, taking a fairly complex issue and making it easy to understand.

[rakrobn]

10:49 AM on 10/01/2010

Figures that a conservatard would flag you as abusive for saying that the video takes a fairly complex issue and makes it easy to understand.

[Drash]

10:54 AM on 10/01/2010

That's how Baggers "debate". When they can't refute or rebut the facts presented to them, they attack the messenger.

[ButterBiscuit]

11:55 AM on 10/01/2010

even if they realize and understand the logic involved, they still won't support it, just so they can remain opposed to whatever Obama stands for....fanned.

[ButterBiscuit]

10:24 AM on 10/01/2010

We've got a big deficit to pay off. It's time to pay the piper. Clearly the tax cuts did not work as the repugs told us they would. It boggles the mind why the argument for keeping them holds any merit at all. I don't think millionaires and billionaires are going to miss 4 cents on the dollar after their first $250,000. Think of it this way: When you go the gas station one day and its' $2.52/gal, then you go the next week and it's now $2.56/gal do you cry and whine and decide you're not going to buy any gas that week. HE-double-hocky-sticks no you don't. You buy the gas you need to get where you need to go, and life goes on.

[UNLVGOP]

12:51 PM on 10/01/2010

The tax cuts they're talking about only represent 5% of the annual deficit. What about the other 95%?

[JudgeCCrater]

01:07 PM on 10/01/2010

Patience, grasshopper. And stop trying to change the subject.

[Eris23Skidoo]

03:29 PM on 10/01/2010

The other 95% is being spent to clean up the messes left behind by the republicans when they were drunk with power and trying to take over the world.

[leftcoastindy]

10:17 AM on 10/01/2010

For the trolls that continue to stay ignorant about taxes and the way they work. If you 'make' $300K, you dont pay more in tax on the first $250K, you only pay more on the amount over $50K. If its 5% that is an extra $2500 dollars. Any suggestion that a business owner would do anything at all to prevent having to pay this (other than let his accountant cheat on his return) is rediculous. The extra workers would be making you more than the $2500 or you would not hire them anyway.

[Keith Sebastian]

10:33 AM on 10/01/2010

You'll notice this video didn't really focus on that topic. He just glanced over it by mentioning people earning over $250k won't have their rates increased on the amount under $250k. But I don't think that's "in your face" enough. Reading through this thread, I think people will continue to be ignorant about how marginal tax rates work, and there's not much we can do about it. Maybe if Goolsbee had an entire whiteboard session dedicated to explaining the tax brackets, it might sink in.

[Eris23Skidoo]

03:31 PM on 10/01/2010

It doesn't sink in because they are not interested in understanding how reality works. They have their own reality. In their reality, everything Glenn Beck says is gospel and liberals are out to get their guns. They won't listen to logic because they have no use for it. Facts have a liberal bias, so they avoid facts.

[Liberal2009]

05:21 PM on 10/01/2010

Why did he need to harp on that fact? Anyone who could read a graph could see his point.