Who needs Taxes

Over and over we keep hearing that the Reagan administration lowered taxes and miraculously, rather like Jesus with the fish and loaves, the actual revenue increased. So when little Bush cut taxes on the wealthiest Americans, everyone waited for manna to fall from heaven.

The Bush-lites didn't let the fact that they had entered into an expensive war change their plans. They didn't let the rising deficit change their plans. They still had the temporary fix of the miracle credit card to play; and they could increasingly send off pork to quell any unease in their people while they waited for the multiplying. They have currently worked the debt to such a level that their children's children won't pay it off while they wait.

What about that miracle Reagan plan? In reality while he did decrease the rate on the highest income earners, he also cut a lot of what had been tax deductions-- things like deducting the interest you paid on consumer loans. That used to be something the average citizen could deduct come tax time. I knew about that well because suddenly my family lost it and it hurt. We had a lot of consumer debt in those days.

Then after Reagan's tax cut, along came big Bush's time as president. Big Bush faced reality. He was a man who had done that a lot given he was in a war and actually did fight. He was a man who had earned his way up the rung politically, run a lot of bureaus and understood budgets. He knew that what Reagan had promised was, as he had earlier called it, voodoo economics; and so he bit the bullet and raised taxes to straighten the mess out. He paid the ultimate price: Tell the American people the truth and you are out of office.

Now here we are years later, many tax cuts later, while there is talk of more tax cuts, and a growing budget deficit which nobody currently working in the administration has any interest in cutting. After all there is pork to satisfy. There is a war to fight without causing the American people to feel the pinch from it.

So the magic credit card keeps being extended. The idea of actually paying for what you are doing is used as a threat to most frighten Americans about those yucky Democrats who might call an end to the party. Besides that, Democrats are wimps who won't fight for their rights or anybody else's. Meanie, high spending Democrats have no guts for going to war, like Republicans have, they will raise your taxes (does wimpy Democrat and toughie, increase-tax Democrat seem to go together in your head?).

The Republicans have their arguments down pat. Why should anyone have to pay taxes goes the argument? You can manage your money better than we can is a favorite phrase to get people to not think that maybe that war, their freeways, their police and fire departments, border protection, their military, the care for the truly indigent and disabled, the elderly, not to mention just paying the interest on that rising debt... all of those things might just cost money.

Well who should worry. Just vote out anyone who suggests you can't have it all and remember the magic credit card!

I was thinking for this subject that a picture of a moose was most suitable. It is a reminder that without tax revenue, there would be no Yellowstone National Park where we could all see and photograph animals such as this moose. It also represents the third party that Theodore Roosevelt once tried to start. I don't actually think anybody in the current government-- on either side-- truly is ready to bite any bullets and tell the American people the truth about paying the piper. Maybe it's time to get a real third party and revive that old Bull Moose Party, ya think?