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This is a stupid argument made by people who dont want to be serious about this problem. I do not want to pay the taxes i pay now let alone more.....however, our country is in dire straits financially. We need to decrease spending on Defense as well as raise taxes for now.....just like tax decreases have limits, tax increases should have limits.
Everyone cries like they are living in the third world country here.....we still have it exceptionally easy compared to many parts of the world. If we want to keep this country great we need to right the ship soon.
What's stupid is believing tax increases will be used to pay down debt.
I am trying to figure out the reasoning of my conservative brethren. By 2003, Bush had launched two wars and two tax cuts, all of which continued for the following 5+ years of his presidency. This is so insane on its face that I wonder how people ever felt it was going to be paid for. It is as if he did not care a wit about the true fiscal costs of the wars. He never asked us for sacrifice. No war bonds. Nothing.
So, a blunt question. How do you rationalize massive tax cuts and massive wars and claim to be fiscally responsible?
I am 100% against the Wars--all of them, publicized or not. But even without wars, our federal government is far too large, and spends and borrows far too much money. Government will ALWAYS grow and spend more and more. The only solution is to strictly limit how it can confiscate wealth--in other words, we either "starve the beast" or it eats us alive.
As to tax "cuts," my family loses over half our income to government. It has been this way most of our lives, and though we save and never borrow, we cannot so much as stay even with dollar devaluation and increasing cost of living/taxes. We do not live with any type of luxury or upper class lifestyle or leisure, other than a paid-for home (which is now a huge drain in property taxes). We have no financial security, little hope for the future, and drive 2 ancient cars that break down constantly--all so we can send a fortune to the three levels of government that return virtually NOTHING to us in "services." The level of taxing of working class people who have advanced educations (that WE paid for) is insane, and the free ride of half the voters is also a recipe for disaster. We won't be playing the slave role much longer--and good luck with the critical systems that society depends on to survive, as I and my peers Go Galt, or simply die off. The Robber Baron CEOs think our knowledge and experience and problem-solving ability can be replaced by some guy from India, but that's as valid as the rest of their Narcissistic delusions.
I am 100% for totally abolishing the income tax and limiting the federal government to tariffs, import duties, and trade fees--exactly as the Constitution stated. Centralized government should be no larger than can be supported by protecting our jobs and industry from unfair foreign competition. Running ANY debt should also be totally prohibited, and the "What about if we are attacked" excuse simply is a joke in a world of free trade and nothing but money-making, voluntary wars to support a huge Military Industrial Complex.
Unfortunately "conservatives" is a word used to cover a ridiculous variety of viewpoints, and so it has no real meaning. Rush Limbaugh calls himself conservative but hates Ron Paul--the one true hope of rational and intellectual citizens. Religious nuts have taken over the fiscal conservative movement. War-Mongers have also grabbed power and thrown out any hope of avoiding bankruptcy and collapse.
I am a fiscal conservative, but a social liberal. I do not support ANY wars, and would love to see religion sent back to the local Church and OUT of government as the Founding Fathers intended. The naming of types of political views has very little to do with reality, and much to do with our government manipulating public opinion (trying to make us think we have representation).
Fighting wars with deficit spending did not originate yesterday.
Bush got the idea from LBJ. Of course, LBJ ended up killing ten times as many GIs...and Obama keeps marching on into Afghani oblivion, for some reason.
Warmongering and budget stupidity are not partisan issues.
So-called "conservatives" simply don't care about what liberals or others think of them. They are never wrong, because admitting you are wrong is seen as a sign of weakness, rather than a sign of character/humility.
Fighting wars with deficit spending did not originate yesterday.
Bush got the idea from LBJ. Of course, LBJ ended up killing ten times as many GIs...and Obama keeps marching on into Afghani oblivion, for some reason.
Warmongering and budget stupidity are not partisan issues.
Sure, stupidity is bipartisan.
But in this case, with all the Tea Party hogwash and Grover Norquist running amok, and the deficit, I wanted to know the rationale behind the primary cause of our budget shortfall. I have read nothing except deflections from the peanut gallery. It's as I expected.
The premise is off. First off all, note that this was a cut in tax rates, not revenue. So the premise that the cuts impaired our ability to pay for the wars is wrong. Revenue was roughly flat during Bush's 2 terms, not down. Secondly, the wars were a relatively small percentage of overall federal spending. About 3% in the case of the Iraq war, and even less for Afghanistan, which in any case was strongly supported by Democrats.
JFK did the same thing. He cut tax rates and started a war. OP do you excoriate JFK same as GWB?
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