The Republican Trojan Horse
Beware Republicans bearing tax cuts.
Republican policies overwhelmingly benefit the rich. Tax cuts based on a percentage of earnings usually reduce taxes of the rich by many thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, not the tens or hundreds the rest of us get.
On second thought, it’s not accurate to say that Republican tax cuts “benefit” the rich.
All Americans (including the rich) suffer in the long term—though in varying degrees of pain—from the kind of tax cuts Republicans have been giving out.
How? Because not enough revenue is coming into the federal, state, or municipal levels of government to provide basic services or to invest in projects that will contribute to our country’s long-term prosperity. (The budgetary situation is made far worse by the reckless planning and poor management of the current wars.)
Wherever you look, there’s not enough investment to protect the public.
It took the bridge collapse in Minneapolis to make us acutely conscious of the fragile state of public infrastructure. We now notice rusted girders and netting on the underside of a bridge as we pass below and realize that some engineer must be worried about the potential of falling objects.
The inspection and maintenance of bridges and highways are vital public functions that require adequate public funding and public supervision.
The well-publicized incidents about e.coli contamination of spinach have made us more aware of the need for food-safety inspection and regulation.
But between 2003 and 2006, the major government agency responsible for food safety (Food and Drug Administration) conducted 47 percent fewer inspections, according to an analysis of federal records by the Associated Press.
Even the very richest Americans would find it impractical to set up their own private food inspections.
Public health programs have been cut. Flu and other communicable diseases don’t ask how much you earn when they invade your body (though you’ll likely have access to better medical treatment if you’re rich).
All Americans benefit from clean air and clean water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs adequate funding to do its job, but under Republican management its resources (as well as diligence) have shrunk. The Bush Administration proposed a budget for 2009 that would mean a 26% decline in overall EPA funding since the administration’s first budget was enacted, when adjusted for inflation.
Infrastructure maintenance, food safety, public health, and clean air and water are just four of the many ways our government should be protecting us, whatever our income.
Remember Republican guru Grover Norquist (who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts)?
He said he wanted to shrink government “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” This influential Republican also reportedly said: “My ideal citizen is the self-employed, homeschooling, IRA-owning guy with a concealed-carry permit. Because that person doesn’t need the goddamn government for anything.”
When you hear Republican John McCain talking about all the good things he wants to do for us, keep in mind that he believes in the Republican philosophy of government. But he’s not going to straight-talk like Norquist during his campaign.
McCain has taken Grover Norquist’s “no new taxes” pledge, which states, “ I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”
McCain’s website says “John McCain believes taxes should be low, simple, and fair.” It sounds good, but it’s the typical Republican Trojan horse. The reality is the rich getting richer, the middle class shrinking, the poor neglected, and public services deteriorating.
Let’s not get taken in again by Republican campaign promises about jobs, health care, education, or the environment. If McCain is elected in November this year, expect further cuts in public services and further deterioration in the quality of all Americans’ lives.
