COMFORTABLY NUMB #54
EXTREMELY EXTREME EXTREMIST’S
By Wyatt Haldin
Wyatt Haldin
Imagine. That quiet guy who lives a couple of houses down the street from you, who keeps his yard mowed, house painted, and car washed is dangerous. That same family who pays their bills on time and manages to sock away a little bit for retirement is somehow a menace. Supposedly this behavior, if it were transferred to the government, is “extreme”. I’ve grown to loathe this word. It’s nothing more than code talk to describe being off the liberal plantation. My favorite smarmy lib, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), was caught on tape earlier this month, saying that one of the main talking points of his caucus was to always use the word “extreme” when referring to or describing both the Tea Party and republican party. It was shocking to hear this.
The modern day democratic party is not your grandparent’s democratic party, it is not Harry Truman’s democratic party and it’s not JFK’s democratic party. This current political sideshow is made up of some of the most anti-American and anti-free market radicals that have ever swerved into power. I must interject that I’m not a big fan of the republican party either. At this point in time, the GOP is nothing more than the lesser of two evils. The republicans are starting to be remade in the image of the Tea Party but there are still way too many RINO’s wandering the halls of the capital, clogging up the political process, and clinging desperately to power.
Power, the great seductress of men (and women). Washington DC is filled with individuals who have sold out the interests of the country for their own personal gain. The tax code has been corrupted into a social engineering hammer that is used to demand certain behavior and discourage others. It’s not about what would be best and fair to the citizens. It’s not about what would raise the most revenue and spread the burden evenly. No, it’s about punishing one group and rewarding another. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has proposed a budget plan that would begin to address the orgy of spending that has gone on in Washington over the past decades. The plan has been met with very predictable howls of protest from mostly the Left and even some on the Right. Ryan’s plan has been called “extreme” and he is labeled an “extremist”. I don’t know about you but I am getting “extremely” weary of the Left’s one trick pony show when it comes to any sort of adult conversation about the budget and national debt.
“Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, Washington has a spending problem.”
I don’t know who exactly coined this phrase but no truer words have ever been spoken. The arrogance shown by the entrenched political powers in DC is on daily parade. The idea that they can spend like drunken sailors and then turn around and lecture the country about how we’re not paying “our fair share” or how some group is getting a free ride is beyond galling. Congress wrote the damn tax code and if GE can get by with paying no corporate income tax, then I say either change the mutant tax code or charge them with tax evasion. Of course, neither will happen because this is all just an act in the kabuki theater that is the nation’s capital.
It has been demonstrated on many occasions that revenue to the treasury actually increases when tax rates are cut. When rates are lower, more economic activity takes place and more money flows to Washington. It’s the same principal as a retail business having a sale. Lower the price, more sales result, and larger profits are made. Washington, of course, doesn’t have to worry about a profit. This proves, in a very vivid way, why the tax code is not about raising money. It’s about political winners and losers. There is an assumption on the government’s part, that all money is “theirs” and whatever percentage we get to “keep” is simply a gift from them. This mindset can only come about from years of the playing field being stacked in favor of the incumbent, which, in turn, creates career politicians. The need for congressional term limits has never been more important but we all know the fox is guarding that hen house. The President often laments the money that he thinks is rightfully owed the government that is lost through tax cuts. In his eternal blaming of the “previous” administration for the current mess we find ourselves in, I have to ask these three questions. Does every dime of spending not originate in the house of representatives and have to be passed by the senate? Did the democrats not control both houses since 2006? Were you not a member of the senate that passed these bloated spending bills? Once again, these people depend on people having very short memories or just being flat out dumb.
I want to take a moment from my “obseravations” this month to call attention to the full page ad opposite this column. Bill Miller of BME has taken the time and gone to the effort of honoring our men and women in uniform who, daily, defend our right to squabble over our political differences.
Bill Miller is a true patriot and a kindred spirit when it comes to which side of the argument we choose to stand on. I get taken to task several times a month about why this column bangs the political drum each issue. “I don’t pick up a drag racing magazine to read about this stuff”, I hear. First of all, I’m passionate about the subject and secondly, if we as citizens of this great nation, don’t have our basic freedoms, there isn’t going to be much drag racing going on. The argument about 1/8th mile verses 1/4 mile is going to be a moot point if the EPA comes in and bans all forms of racing fuels. With a federal government that is hell bent on sticking it’s nose in everything, the idea that drag racing will come under their microscope is not that far fetched. As unsavory as some find the political process, it all begins there and one would be well served to keep a close eye on capitol hill. They’re very busy up there.
