Below is a response to a guy who thinks the Republicans are tax-cutting zealots. Really!
Dear Mr. Reiland,
I agree completely with the theme of your article, namely that saddling future generations with debt so we can live high on the
hog today is reprehensible and immoral. Talk about taxation without representation!
That said, you quote Peter Peterson on Republicans, "the pursuit of lower taxes has evolved into a religion, indeed a theology
that discards any objective evidence that violates the faith…." This is sheer nonsense. The Republican party controls both
houses of Congress as well as the executive. If they voted party line and in step with their "religion," why do top federal
income tax rates continue to exceed 35%? (And this excludes state and local taxes). Why haven't they reduced or eliminated
the federal gas tax? My paycheck certainly doesn't show a decrease in FICA "contributions." If this is their religion, they should
be ex-communicated.
You also perpetuate the mistake that direct taxation is the only form of taxation. This is clearly false. Borrowing, which you
accurately describe Republicans of doing at excessive levels, is definitely taxation, but it is deferred taxation. Inflation is
another form of tax, only it is sneakier and more insidious. I don't see Republicans hankering for the Federal Reserve to
maintain the dollar's value. Like their leftist counterparts, they don't mind a little counterfeiting from the Fed. Let the good
times roll!
Should I mention endless federal regulations and unfunded mandates handed down to the states? Are these not taxes that
Republicans enjoy foisting on the rest of us? These folks are not exactly devout followers of their religion.
It isn't that Republicans are slashing taxes with abandon - they are simply not increasing direct taxes to compensate for their
profligate spending. Let's not criticize them for failing to steal more of our property. Instead, they should be derided for
supporting countless and enormously expensive federal programs that have no connection to the Constitution they swore to
uphold. Consequently, nearly half of everything I earn is disappearing into the government maw to fund, among other things:
A. other people's children, including their lunches, inoculations, education, after-school activities, ad infinitum...
B. emergency medical services for illegal aliens
C. expensive medications for seniors, many of whom have a far higher net worth than I'll ever enjoy
D. destructive foreign wars that beget equally destructive terrorist attacks that beget liberty-killing security measures
E. abortion-on-demand (being forced to pay for something I find abhorrent…is this not the definition of tyranny?)
Maybe if Uncle Sam was not in charge of education, retirement planning, housing, democracy-building Third World hell-holes,
and monetary policy…just maybe we wouldn't be facing tens of trillions in liabilities.
Republicans as tax-cut militants? If only!