Abdication of Democracy

 debate, GOP, government, Hypocrisy, Obama, Politics, Taxes, Teaparty, Truth  1 Response »
Jul 262011
 

This is a very simple concept, and only a simple explanation will suffice… I pondered trying to write this post using only fifty unique words but I am not sufficiently talented to make “I do not like the righties plan I do not like it Sam I am” adequately detail what I mean…

Our democracy is based on co-equal branches of government, when those branches are held by different parties the government cannot enact new legislation unless the parties can reach a compromise that satisfies both sides. In such a case new legislation might not be possible, too bad, deal with it.

The problem comes when action MUST be taken by the legislative branch to continue the basic functions of the government that these disparate players are supposed to be serving. If inaction is not an option than compromise isn’t just an unpleasant reality it is an absolute necessity. The government of the United States of America cannot be shredded by the refusal of elected representatives to participate. The business of the United States requires that those who would pretend to be worthy of inclusion could put aside ego and ideology for the greater good of the nation, those unwilling to do so prove themselves unworthy of their post… period.

Democracy is not unlike herding kittens, progress is never going to be simple or direct, but there are times that all hands must come together to accomplish that which must be accomplished. Refusing to acknowledge that divided government requires compromise is tantamount to abdication of the concept of Democracy. If you have no use for our government, get the hell out of the way, the citizens of this country require more. A government of, by and for the people can only be hijacked for a limited time, when that time is up the pushback will be swift and harsh.

I could not, would not, ever vote.
For taxes on a great big boat.
I will not vote to raise a tax.
balance on the seniors backs!
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! You let me be!
We do not like them on the rich.
We do not like them silly bitch.
We will not raise a single tax.
Despite all of your stupid facts.
We do not like them here or there.
We do not like them ANYWHERE!

Seriously, this is the level of discourse from the right, and the country deserves better.

 Posted by R. Paine at 8:41 pm

Why Wisconsin Matters

 debate, GOP, government, Hypocrisy, Politics, Taxes, Teaparty, The Economy, Truth  1 Response »
Feb 172011
 

We see a very dangerous dynamic going on in the state of Wisconsin, and the state of Ohio, and the state of Florida and, and…

The GOP is selling the meme that hard working Americans should be outraged that hard working Americans have a tiny bit more than they do…

The Governor of Wisconsin proposes to strip all state workers the right of collective bargaining under the guise of a state budget crisis. The fact is that Wisconsin was projected to have a surplus this year before Gov. Walker cut taxes, additionally stripping workers of their bargaining rights will have little to no impact in the short term.

The Republicans have spent 30 years engineering the largest concentration of wealth that has been experienced in this country since the 1920′s and now they want those that have been decimated, stagnated, downsized and degraded to rip each other to shreds for the scraps left over…

Think about this for just a moment.

The median weekly wage for a non union worker is $717

The median weekly wage for a union worker is $917

The median weekly income for the top 1.5% is $4,807

The median weekly income for the top .1% is $30760

So logically the GOP would like to see those at the bottom of the earnings scale angry and outraged at those barely higher on the scale… oh and while they are at it outrage at the unemployed and those crushed by the housing crisis would very effectively control the 98% of this country that is being fleeced by unmitigated greed.

Now that the GOP have come completely out into the open to blatantly advocate for only the richest and most powerful we had better be prepared to go to the mat because if we can’t beat them when they behave like this there is very little hope.

 Posted by R. Paine at 8:43 pm

Taxing Credulity

 debate, GOP, government, Hypocrisy, Politics, Taxes, Truth  Comments Off
Dec 052010
 

The tax cut debate, er, hypocrisy, um, extortion has according to “conventional wisdom” lead to the complete capitulation of the Democratic party to the party that no longer even bothers to try to justify the gulf between what they say they stand for and what they stand for every day of the world.

First let us deal with cold, hard, facts… Small businesses, who the GOP claim are the sole reason for their vehement support for the extension of the Bush tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 do NOT BASE THEIR DECISIONS ABOUT HIRING ON TAX RATES!

Small business owners base their hiring decisions on a calculation that the profit to be realized from the employee will exceed the expense of that employee (an expense that is tax deductable). Small business that do otherwise do not survive to reap the fantasy benefit that the Republicans pretend to provide. Tax cuts will not stimulate the creation of jobs, claim if you will that rich people will spend more of their expendable income than the unemployed trying to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, it won’t be true but at least we would be debating reality.

The tax cut debate is like everything else the Republicans have done for the last thirty years, a lie designed to enrich the few while creating the conditions to decimate the social safety net that they have always despised.

Not kidding…

 Posted by R. Paine at 7:38 pm

Priorities

 George W. Bush, government, Midterms, Obama, Politics, Taxes, Truth  Comments Off
Nov 152010
 

The GOP used reconciliation to pass the so called “Bush tax cuts”. In order to utilize the process of reconciliation, the GOP was forced to insert a sunset clause because the rules of the Senate don’t allow the reconciliation to be used if the underlying legislation will increase the budget deficit beyond ten years…  Let that sink in for a moment. The GOP knew, absolutely knew that the “Bush tax cuts” would have a negative impact on the deficit and the debt. They gamed the system using techniques that they vilified to the point of hysteria during the health care debate even when they knew that it was fiscally irresponsible. They knew it, and they did it anyway…

They passed the tax cuts knowing that the tax cuts would wipe out the surpluses of the Clinton era.

They passed the tax cuts knowing that a disproportionate benefit was given to the wealthy.

They passed the tax cuts knowing that the national debt would increase despite claiming it a primary concern.

They passed the tax cuts and once again told the Average American that they can have a crumb while giving the whole damn cake to the rich.

If the GOP believed or had any credible evidence that the Bush tax cuts would not negatively impact the deficit and the debt, then why put the sunset measures in the bill in the first place? Don’t bother attempting an answer, despite the talking points, the GOP knew that the Bush tax cuts would explode the debt, they were told so and they acted accordingly all the while spewing the same old crap that Americans have swallowed for decades.

The current administration has not had the luxury of choice, the economic crisis dealt most of the cards that the administration has had to play, and yet THIS administration was able to cut the deficit in the worst recession since the depression.

So first the GOP passes irresponsible tax cuts that they KNEW were going to have a negative impact on the deficit and now the GOP says that it is irresponsible to raise taxes in a recession, that is pretty damn convenient… Functionally the GOP is saying that they were knowingly irresponsible, but the only responsible path to to double down on stupid…

Do NOT let a single Republican continue spewing the fantasy that these tax cuts will spur the economy to the point that revenue will overcome deficit pressures. The GOP knows it isn’t true, of course that won’t stop them from saying it is so…

It is time that persons of good conscience step up and have adult conversations about adult matters. Priorities must be set and policy needs to be crafted to reach those priorities. The stakes are too high to not demand that our representation in Washington D.C. cut the demonstrably false talking points and get serious about governance, it has to be a priority, we have to make sure it remains a priority.

Republicans don’t believe the things they say, they believe the things they say will get them elected. Eventually the truth will catch up to them, believe me.

 Posted by R. Paine at 8:37 pm

Tic Tax Doh!

 government, Hypocrisy, Obama, Politics, Taxes, Truth  Comments Off
Nov 112010
 

Can the Democrats put aside their pathological fear of being simultaneously right and politically potent at the same time? Yes we can.

Is it possible to do the right thing and reap the political benefit of the Republicans getting it completely wrong and looking like the uberwealthy lapdogs that they truly are? Yes we can.

Could it be that the Democrats can do that which is necessary for the betterment of the country and NOT be forced to fall on their swords for the effort? Yes we can!

And how is this perfect storm of political nirvana possible? The George W. Bush tax cuts, passed (or shall I say jammed down our throats) by the Republicans leveraging the slimmest of margins using the most reviled process in democracy known to man, aka reconciliation, are, at long last expiring.

The damage of these tax cuts, two unfunded wars, Medicare part D and reckless deregulation of the financial industry will take its toll on the deficit for years, but the 700 billion given away to the wealthiest 2% of earners need not and should not continue.

True American patriots are willing to sacrifice to secure the future of the nation, if that means that I need to give up MY tax cut to force the wealthiest 2% to step up, so be it. I would rather pay more than see the people that have gained more than any other segment in the last decade shirk their responsibility to the nation that has blessed them with such fortune. I will stand up to secure our children’s future, their education the infrastructure that will make their American Dream a possibility.

I cannot and will not accept that those who are most fortunate among us cannot relieve a portion of the burden for the nation that has rewarded them so generously. I will accept the necessity to pay more myself if it means that they will not dodge this responsibility. I will not accept an extension of the tax cuts for these individuals for one moment beyond the sunset that the Republicans set when they kneecapped the budget for this foray in fiscal irresponsibility. I will not accept an extension for two years, or one year, or six months, or six minutes.

If Democrats believe that the “politics” of keeping the tax cuts for the middle class and letting them expire for the wealthiest Americans is too hard I have a suggestion… Do nothing. The tax cuts will expire and the Democrats will be responsible for plugging a huge hole in the deficit.  If the Democrats feel like “do nothing” is just too “Republican” try this, pass a tax cut for people earning less than 250k in the lame duck session and let the “Bush” tax cuts die with the legacy.

The point is this, there is a line that the democratic base will not cross, we are marching right up to it and it is desperately important that our representation both in the Congress and the White House understand… We WILL accept our responsibility and pay more if we must, we WILL NOT accept the most fortunate or you shirking your responsibility… Really, we will NOT.

 Posted by R. Paine at 8:10 pm

Trickle me Elmo

 government, Hypocrisy, Obama, Politics, Taxes, Teaparty, town halls, Truth  Comments Off
Apr 152010
 

Well America it is tax day and suffice it to say that this day among all days in the calendar inflames the passions of those who pay taxes, those who avoid taxes, those who benefit from taxes and those who feel abused by taxes.

This particular tax day was brought into sharp contrast for me when I had a minor Twitter kerfuffle about tax breaks for small and large companies in America.

My instincts lean towards more tax breaks for small companies and fewer for the large strictly on the basis of the assumption that large companies are already very well represented and therefore have more advantage built into the system than small companies. The surprise for me was when I received via twitter the following challenge “if large companies have income freed up, they hire new employees. Not political. FACTUAL.” I did not even take a moment to think before I replied from what I knew to be true from twenty plus years in the trenches of making small businesses survive in the real economy… Companies hire on demand, profit has NOTHING to do with the acquisition of personnel.

It may be true that companies will retain personnel longer in a down economy based on the profitability of the company but the notion that a company will hire additional personnel due to tax incentives that increase profitability is not only wrong it is insulting to anyone that has ever run a business, large or small.

“Trickle down” economics is an insult to thinking people everywhere the only possible benefit is in a moderate slowdown where the financial windfall could forestall the severance of employees in a recession mild enough that such a delay might blunt the dip to the point of insignificance… or in other words, trickle down only works to save jobs on the way down, not to create them on the way back up.

The argument that large companies cannot afford to pay their fair share in the way of taxes to this nation that is so good to them washes only as a measure of triage, the rest of the time the tax benefit will find its way into the bonuses of the executives that negotiated the tax break, not into the employment of someone who could add to real economy of the nation.

 Posted by R. Paine at 7:41 pm
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