Tax Cuts Are Only Part Of The Solution

There is great news out that the government took in more money in taxes than the expected to. Tax revenues are up from businesses and rich people and this is mainly attributed to the tax cuts that the Congress enacted throughout the Bush Administration. For all the talk from Democrats about tax cuts for the rich and how tax cuts are not the answer there sure is a lot of money flowing into the government as a direct result of the tax cuts. Republicans say this is good news, the Democrats point out that these figures are misleading (like the idea that they had a balanced budget). All parties are partly correct. The tax cuts bring in additional revenue but without fiscal responsibility it makes little difference.

Here is a quote from the cited article:

Democrats and many independent budget analysts note that overall revenues have barely climbed back to the levels reached in 2000, and that the government has borrowed trillions of dollars against Social Security surpluses just as the first of the nation’s baby boomers are nearing retirement.

This item is designed to make it look like the Congress has only borrowed money from SS during Bush’s Presidency. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Congress has been taking money from SS for decades and replacing the money with IOU’s This is one of the ways to make it seem that they are balancing budgets. The government takes in more each month than it spends (in SS) yet they take the additional money and spend it on pork projects. They use SS money to pay for non budgeted items or to give pork to supporters. This is one of the reasons that SS is in a crisis. The Congress has been raping the SS account of money for years and now they have to find a way to pay back TRILLIONS of dollars. Remember, those trillions did not amass during this administration, they amassed during the past several. In addition, none of the Presidents have been responsible. Congress puts its grubby hands in the till every month to rob people. This folks, is one of the reasons we need private accounts. When it is strictly your money, they can not touch it.

Despite a public outcry this year over pork-barrel spending sought by individual lawmakers for local projects, Mr. Bixby said, the main causes of higher spending stem from the war in Iraq and entitlement programs.

The People who want to defend pork can come up with any excuse they want and and place any blame they want. This statement only tells us that the war and entitlement are the main reasons for higher spending. What Bixby did not say is that if we eliminate PORK then there is more money going to pay down the deficit. We have a deficit because members of Congress are not responsible enough to exercise control over spending. That is plain and simple. Is it any wonder that there is an extremely poor savings rate in this country? Congress does not save so why should American citizens, especially when their elected representatives promise them money for their needs in the form of programs.

The members of Congress are poor financial managers. They can not manage the money we entrust to them. They spend it on pork and on special interest groups. We need to allow the line item veto and we need to cut all pork out of Congressional spending. If Alaska wants a bridge then they can sell bonds to earn money to build it. If West Virginia needs anything else built and named after Robert Byrd then let West Virginia pay for it. Federal tax dollars should not be spent on pet projects. This is true in general but especially when money is tight. To do so demonstrates that members of Congress are unfit for duty and are not stewards of the public’s money.

If you want to know how poorly Congress does with your money visit Citizens Against Government Waste. This link shows where 1 MILLION dollars of your tax money went. Here is a clue: It was a swimming pool.

If we really want fiscal responsibility we need to end PORK and we need to end it now. Otherwise, they will continue to rape us.

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