Spending-Cut Talk is Cheap

One of the things that infuriates me most is so-called Conservatives whose whole fiscal policy consists of the words 'I favor Spending Cuts'.

Few have any details except that there is STUFF they think oughta be CUT. Don't bother them with boring details like what they would cut and by how much. Ssssh. 'That does not win votes' whispers Mr. Conservative.

Well, there is bunches that need to be cut. Let's try EVERYTHING that supports STUFF not mentioned in The Constitution. And while Mr. Repu ... uh ... I mean Mr. Conservative often feels the same way he of course feels that winning votes is more important than some little thing like the good of the country.

But wait .... is tax-cutting even a wise thing to do? Of course it is, but following tax-related money from a U.S. taxpayer to the IRS suggests that it only makes sense after another major step.

Taking 2004 as an example, the U.S. Treasury pulled in approx $2 TRILLION in tax revenue. Taxpayers, however, were forced to pay approx $2.5 TRILLION out of their pockets.
Where is the $500 BILLION difference? Well, the U.S. Government mandates that it's citizens (individually or via corporations) follow a complicated procedure of administrative collecting & reporting known as the U.S. Income Tax Code. The cost to us of complying with this mandate IS that $500 BILLION.

Are there so few of us who understand what the words WASTE, INEFFICIENCY and EXTORTION means? If I owe you $100 (whether I think it should really be that much or not) but you tell me I MUST pay your friend Myron $120 and he will in turn pay off your $1o0 debt, why in hell should I accept that as an acceptable idea.

Yet that is exactly what our government does every year and apparently 95% of this country thinks nothing of it .... but they sure as heck want spending to be CUT. Oh yeah!
Are we all brain-dead? I know schools rarily teach economics but this is a very simple concept. The 60% or so of us Americans who actually pay our taxes shell out $1.20 to the tax 'system' to provide our government with $1.00 in actual taxes. Why would we do something that STUPID? Because it is the LAW!

Mr. Conservative, if forced, can tell you about at most maybe $50 BILLION in spending cuts he wants to make. I'm sure it makes him feel all macho and stuff, but why on Earth would that be done before stopping the total waste of that $500 BILLION each year.

Every Repub ... eh ... Conservative will proudly point to President Bush's roughly $100 BILLION per year tax cuts and tell you how much it helped this country. Yeah, they'll say, Congress spent $450 BILLION more than it took in but WE cut those taxes some.

$500 BILLION people!!! Come on, I know it's a big number but figure it out. That is 5 times your celebrated tax cuts and approx the same as the entire Federal budget deficit.

Replace this damn Income Tax insanity. Be an American first, then you can crow all you want about being Mr. RepubliConservative.