Friday, September 24, 2010

Safety and Tax Cuts

We, as a people, are becoming deeply entrenched in a policy of wanting that for which we are unwilling to pay, and our leadership of both parties is encouraging us down that path of self destruction.

We want our government to “keep us safe.” We want it to rebuild New Orleans. We want it to build highways. We want it to replace our houses after a flood, because we have not provided ourselves with flood insurance. We want it to pay for our parents’ prescription drugs. And we don’t want to pay taxes. Above all, we don't want to pay taxes.

And so our leaders, Republican and Democrat alike, say that they’ll have government “keep us safe.” They’ll have it rebuild New Orleans. They’ll have it build highways. They’ll have it replace our houses after a flood. They’ll have it pay for our parents’ prescription drugs. And they’ll give us tax cuts.

Tax cuts is what Republicans do. I voted Democrat because I wanted a government which was capable of functioning. What do I get? I get tax cuts heaped upon tax cuts. I never thought that they would have the courage to actually raise taxes, but I hoped that they would at least stop preaching the endless mantra of cutting them.

Paul Krugman excoriates the Republicans for wanting to add $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade to “make the Bush tax cuts permanent” and says that the proposal is “about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals.” So he seemingly has no problem with Obama adding $3 trillion to the debt to provide tax cuts.

We want that for which we are unwilling to pay.

I know that Democrats respond with, “Yes, but Republicans want to give tax cuts to the rich and we want to give them to the middle class.” Nonsense. Look at the amount we will be adding to the debt. We want that for which we are unwilling to pay.

Both sides are still preaching the message that the voters want to hear, “We’ll give you what you want to have, and we won’t give you the bill for it.” That is not leadership, that is pandering.

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