"Inherent Difficulties" in Tax Gimmick Backed By Obama & Senate

12/19/2011 -- Ooooops, according to ABC News (ht Drudge), reported by Jake Tapper.

Here's the opener from Jake's ABC "Political Punch" posting:

"Two-Month Payroll Tax Holiday Passed By Senate, Pushed By President, Cannot Be Implemented Properly, Experts Say"

Officials from the policy-neutral National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Inc. have expressed concern to members of Congress that the two-month payroll tax holiday passed by the Senate and supported by President Obama cannot be implemented properly.

Pete Isberg, president of the NPRC today wrote to the key leaders of the relevant committees of the House and Senate, telling them that "insufficient lead time" to implement the complicated change mandated by the legislation means the two-month payroll tax holiday "could create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees."
. . . .

And here is the ABC-linked letter from Peter Isberg of the "National Payroll Reporting Consortium." a politically neutral "non-profit trade association that does not take positions on policy."

UPDATE: Concurrence from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors -- NAW, who have now written a letter (ht: Andrew Stiles at NRO here) to both the Speaker John Boehner and Senate President Harry Reid concurring with the conclusion of the National Payroll Reporting Consortium.

. . .
We are aware of the letter sent today to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees by the National Payroll Reporting Consortium, advising the Committee leaders of the “substantial problems, confusion and costs” that the proposed two-month extension of the reduced payroll tax rate would cause. In fact, the NPRC states that many payroll systems would simply not be able to make the programming changes that H.R. 3630 would require.

We concur with the conclusion of the NPRC on the logistical difficulties and costs that would result from enactment of H.R. 3630 as written.
. . . .

And, unlike the NPRC which does not comment on matters of policy, the NRW commented further on what they see as the undesirable policy aspects of the 2-month extension.

. . .
Moreover, the type of temporary and changing tax provisions that H.R. 3630 would impose would have an economic as well as a practical impact. A two-month extension of the current reduced payroll tax rate, with the implicit rise in that rate in the first quarter of 2011, would exacerbate and escalate the uncertainty about fiscal policies that has inhibited business activity and slowed economic recovery and job creation for the last several years.
. . . .

As just reported earlier today by The Hill, Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) and two other Republican Senators (Richard Lugar, R-IN, and Dean Heller, R-NV) -- all three of whom who are up for reelection in 2012 -- are publicly urging the House to go along with the two-month Senate provision. This may now come as an embarrassment to them for precipitously jumping on their House colleagues.

ABCs Jake Tapper Does His Job
Kudos Galore Pour In

Today, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent, Jake Tapper, challenged Obama Press flak Robert Gibbs in the White House press room, on why the Obama White House felt entitled to claim, as they have over the past several days, that Fox News is not a legitimate news organization, and why other news organizations should thereby shun them.

The exchange was posted here on Jake's blog, Political Punch.

Tapper: It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations "not a news organization" and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one –

(Crosstalk)

Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.

Tapper: But that's a pretty sweeping declaration that they are "not a news organization." How are they any different from, say –

Gibbs: ABC -

Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?

Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o'clock tonight. Or 5 o'clock this afternoon.

Tapper: I'm not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I'm talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a "news organization" -- why is that appropriate for the White House to say?

Gibbs: That's our opinion.

In reading through many of the hundreds of comments in the thread following Jake's post, I was struck by the very large number of people who simply posted comments there thanking Jake Tapper for doing his job! I'd never read anything like it.

An instant outpouring of affection for a reporter? Think about it!

So, I decided to leave a comment.

Here it is:

Somehow, it all just seems so out of sync to read so many comments from people who are actually thanking Jake Tapper for doing his job! A reporter! People hate reporters, don't they? I cannot recall another time when I saw or read anything quite like it. Of course, the internet age differs from the past, but still!

He really does not expect to be thanked, you know. Matter of fact, I'll even bet the kudos are a little bit embarrassing to him. I also suspect he would say that he simply knows no other way, that he is just doing his job.

Well . . . that's true.

Now, this is not the first time Jake Tapper has asked tough questions of the current occupant(s) of the White House. And there aren't a lot of reporters that do that these days.

There are very few.

Jake Tapper is historically one of a long line of journalists who have played an enormously important role in our republic, because what the good reporters and journalists do, is watch how people in charge handle their power. And they ask them questions, sometimes in a seemingly impertinent manner, about what they are doing and why. They challenge them, ask for documents as proof, and often come at them from several different angles. And they expose the screw ups.

Yet, it suddenly and almost instantaneously became a lost art with so many of the star-struck press minions, with the election of Barack Obama less than one year ago, like they chugged down some happy potion. Quite a few of them had consciously or subconsciously played an important role in actually promoting his candidacy. More than a few of them openly worshiped him. All many of them did was write breathless pap.

Remember back in June of this year, when the President of Newsweek actually said that Barack Obama was above America, even above the world -- he declared Obama was "sort of God?"

What the ?#$>$C. . . He should have been laughed out of town . . . or issued a bib, and sent off to the home!

I just hope there are a few reporters reading this thread -- the ones that still read, that is. And I hope they take something away from the fact that Jake Tapper has been thanked here repeatedly for doing his job. Maybe it will awaken something in them, some spark, some faint recollection of what their job is, and what this country is all about.

So what the heck, here goes -- not for nothing!

Hey Jake. Thanks man. There's nothing quite like watching a real pro at work. Good job!

Posted by: Trochilus October 20, 2009 at 10:21 PM