Sunday, October 17, 2010

Government is NOT the problem

"...government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."
- Ronald Reagan,  1981
I have a real beef with this idea. I have a real beef with the G.O.P., and I am not talking about the loonies on the fringe who say that the Department of Education should be done away with. I have a beef with the ones who have disparaged the stimulus act while attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects, paid for by the stimulus, while taking the credit. ...with the ones who complain that the stimulus didn't work and that they have a different approach whose emphasis would be tax incentives when the makeup of 40% of the stimulus was tax incentives. I'm tired of the lies, the sheer, bald-faced dishonesty and the doublespeak. And I am frustrated that people cannot see the stupidity of this. At the Foley/Malloy debate, Tom Foley pledged not to raise taxes until the current budget deficit of three billion dollars in the state of CT has been remedied. If it takes X number of dollars to run the state and you are three billion dollars short of that number it seems ludicrous to say that you are not going to consider a tax raise. His reasoning? If the Democrat-controlled state legislature gets any additional funds they will spend them. Well I should hope to hell so! It's not like the state has a big piggy bank we're trying to fill up!

I'm tired of people complaining about paying taxes. I hate the idea of "starving the beast." Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said that "taxes are the price we pay for civilization." We have the GOP constantly talking about how Social Security is a ponzi scheme, how unemployment benefits make the jobless lazy and unwilling to get a job, and on and on. They are more concerned about getting tax breaks for corporations and millionaires than providing a safety net for the people in the worst financial predicament. They are dying to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans but unwilling to extend unemployment benefits for people hit the hardest in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. I've been on unemployment for quite some time now and let me tell you something: It sucks! This is not something that anyone in their right mind would want to milk for any period of time. We've had make some serious cuts, swallowed a lot of pride and make some moves that while helpful in the immediate are going to hurt in the long term, like cashing in my 401k. But the unemployed are the greedy ones... not the hedge fund managers and millionaires and billionaires whose tax cuts' lost revenue make up over 50% of our current deficit. While we're on the subject of the deficit, how can anyone in their right mind complain about the deficit while wanting to extend those tax cuts? That's an idea that a ten year old can consider at realize that it's not logical.

To me, if you have a problem with our government, you have a problem with our country. I would call you un-patriotic. I am proud of our government and think it is disgusting how the GOP senators have done everything in their power to block, delay or derail legislation, confirming federal appointees, and so on. Come November I am going to pull the Democratic lever on every single nominee, not because I vote blindly along party lines but because I feel that the GOP and its ideas are dangerous and un-American. The moderates of the GOP have been pushed aside by the clowns and the crazies. I don't like the idea of deficit spending but I'd rather have that than a group of legislators who are willing to screw over the least fortune in our country to help the richest and have the nerve to call it fiscal responsibility.

No comments:

Post a Comment