Saturday, May 10, 2014

TAX CUTS HAVE HURT US

There is growing evidence that cutting taxes has done so much damage, we many not be able to recover. Republican campaign rhetoric has had “no more taxes” as a centerpiece. Frank Luntz type focus groups tell us what we already know; it is not just Republicans but also everyone; people do not want to pay taxes. However, right wing political operatives took that as a party theme and with the support of the American people, they ran with it. Grover Norquist want the government so small he can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the tub and the people applauded; he means all regulations, ranging from protecting students from loan predators to such things as environmental protection. The problem is they cannot afford the water and even if they could the water is not fit to drink. The result is we have moved to a point where we essentially have a non-functioning government. Our generation is consuming the investment our ancestors bought and paid for with their taxes.

Everyday, I hear and see things that verify this is the case. Painfully, state after state no longer can afford to pay their teachers, police, and firefighters. North Carolina has lost 600 teachers last year. Workers no longer have unemployment insurance they paid for and are forced into low paying jobs. Sadly, we promise health care for our veterans through a socialized Veteran Administration Hospital System but congress cuts their budget so that cannot provide that care. Medicaid was not expanded in North Carolina so 500,000 are without health care. Foolishly, we as a nation are allowing our infrastructure to fall apart including highways, roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. We also know we are rapidly falling farther and farther behind in the world of technical development such as high-speed trains, freight transportation, climate control, industrial waste disposal, and a long, long list of etceteras.


Republican controlled state after Republican controlled state are reporting shortfalls in revenue collection as a direct result of tax cuts. States cannot pay the bills they have amassed yet they refuse to raise taxes; instead, they move to cut taxes more. Party leaders often disguise what they are doing by claiming they cut taxes, as they did in North Carolina, where the truth is that they shifted the tax burden from the rich to the working class, which they did but increased sales tax. Still the people applaud them for saying in their political ads they “cut income” taxes. They claim they are creating jobs by cutting taxes on corporations to attract them to come to the state. They are stealing jobs from other states at the expense of workers in other and then turn a blind eye on who is paying for the police, fire protection, schools and the highways, etc to support the factories they attracted. Your greed has created an ever-increasing downward spiral. Think about it 

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