The Newest Member of the Tinfoil Hat Club…

…Alan Keyes! Congratulations, come on down! 

(After watching the video make sure you rip out your fillings to keep the government radio waves from reading your mind.)

2001: A Tax Odyssey

Let’s take a leisurely stroll back in time. All the way back to 2001! The US economy was in the middle of a mild recession and we had a new president who wanted to stimulate the economy by cutting taxes.

His initial proposal was $1.6 trillion, which was popular with the majority but did not fly with the minority party at all (who argued it was not very stimulative and would add enormously to the debt). In the end it was argued down to a $1.35 trillion dollar tax cut, and 5 Senators in the minority broke with their party to vote for the plan.

That president was George W. Bush and the majority part was the Republicans. For more deja vu, consider that Bush even went on a cross-country townhall meeting campaign to drum up support for the tax plan.  

Epilogue: The White House and Republican majority pushed additional tax cuts through in 2003.

So I’m left wondering, why is the $787 billion stimulus an egregious waste when the opposition party (now lecturing us on the horrors of deficit spending) added about $1.8 trillion to the national debt during a milder recession? I’m confused, because the tax cuts arguably did little to stimulate the economy, worsened the income gap in our country, and–here’s the kicker–drastically cut federal revenue needed to pay off existing debt. 

Some will argue “that’s in the past, the Republicans today are different and we need to focus on solutions.” True, but don’t act as if the party that exploded the national debt can lecture us on deficits with a straight face. This isn’t even about Bush, it’s about the Republicans trying to save face and regain political power.

Questions That Need Answering

Let me start out by saying this: I’m all for bipartisanship. I think there is far too much party-over-the-people bickering in Washington, particularly in Congress. We need to see less ideology and more pragmatism from our lawmakers.

But this is just ridiculous.

Why are we listening to the Republicans on the stimulus bill? Why are we buying into the rants of an obstinate, obstructive party that is out of ideas and clinging to Reagan’s Greatest Hits of the Eighties?

Why are Republicans now suddenly concerned about the national debt when former Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2004, “Reagan taught us that deficits don’t matter”? The party that took our country from a projected surplus in 2000 to the highest national debt ever (hint, it’s not the Democrats) is now chiding the other party for spending money during a legitimate crisis.

Why is $800 billion to stabilize our country in a deep recession so egregious to fiscal conservatives, when those same “fiscal conservatives” cheerfully passed a $1.3 TRILLION dollar tax cut in 2001? The Bush tax cuts benefited a small portion of Americans while simultaneously increasing our debt and decreasing the country’s income needed to pay off that very debt.

Why did 36 of 41 senate Republicans recently vote for scrapping the current stimulus bill and going with a $950 billion dollar tax cut? The big problem with tax cuts as catch-all solution is that when the money is spent it’s gone and you have nothing to show for it. At least with infrastructure and spending we have tangible buildings, roads, bridges, and investments to show for it.

Why are Republicans, who blocked a mortgage bailout for homeowners this past summer, now suddenly convinced that we absolutely need to have a mortgage bailout for homeowners?

Why are Republicans criticizing sending money to state governments who can’t pay their bills? It sounds nice to say, “Take responsibility and balance your budget,” but in reality it will just lead to massive layoffs across the country in an economy that already has the worst job losses in 30 years.

Why are Republicans ridiculing things like purchasing a new fleet of fuel-efficient cars? The government would save money in the long run by using efficient vehicles and this would provide a large work order for troubled American car companies.

Why are Republicans insisting on cutting funding for food stamps, the most effective per-dollar stimulus on record? Not to mention it helps out families hit hard by the recession.

Why are we taking advice from a party that had an economic summit with Joe the Plumber? (Seriously, they are asking an unlicensed plumber/campaign prop for economic policy advice).  

Why are Republicans and pundits pushing the myth that FDR prolonged the Great Depression? Looking up the numbers shows that FDR cut unemployment from mid 20s to 10% by 1937, in addition to seeing good economic growth. When in 1937 politicians demanded that FDR balance the budget and he cut programs and raised taxes, the economy relapsed.

What exactly are Republicans up in arms about? Democrats have capitulated to them on numerous fronts. Tax cuts have crept up as a larger and larger percentage of the bill, and many things the Republicans wanted cut were taken out (and replaced with tax cuts). 

Yet the Republicans are still not happy. The recent 36/41 vote showed what is really going on here: The Republicans don’t want any stimulus to pass, and if one absolutely has to, they want it to be 100% tax cuts.

Republicans found a great strategy here: Crucify the man who ran on bipartisanship. Because Obama espoused a platform of compromise and working together, the Republicans realized they could whine their way to getting whatever they wanted or Obama and the Democrats were being “partisan.” Sorry, but bipartisanship means compromise, not getting everything you want or you walk away with your toys.

My question to Obama is: Why are you letting the Republicans push you around? Why are you bending over backwards for a party that has clearly rejected all compromise?

That’s a question I want answered.