Hope and Change: Tax and Spend Liberal Agenda
Just as the GOP has historically been characterized as blindly supporting ‘big business’ to the detriment of the ordinary citizen the Democrats have a reputation of being tax and spend liberals. Recent losses for the GOP in the 2008 presidential election and the 2006 midterms are at least in part due to a Republican fall from grace on conservative principles such as fiscal responsibility. Now that the Democrats are the majority party they have chosen to describe their Congressional minority opponents, the GOP, as the party of ‘no’. Members of the public who share the GOPs opposition to the Democratic party’s political agenda have likewise been labeled something less than American.
A topic not receiving the attention it may deserve as well as some related reports may help readers see through the fog that is politics as usual in the US Capitol. The topic has been called the Tobin tax. The prospect of a so-called Tobin tax, floated last month by U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is already provoking nervous U.S. financial companies to lobby for its defeat. Democrats, including Oregon Representative Pete DeFazio and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, this week proposed taxing large transactions in stocks and derivatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the idea has a “great deal of merit.”
In general, the idea is to impose a tax on all investment transactions. As if there were not enough taxes (actually too many) on investments and everything else already. When was the last time you heard of a tax being repealed? And if you can cite an example, can you be sure it was not reborn in another piece of legislation? Far worse, an idea like the Tobin tax is appealing to tax and spend liberals for one reason. If the tax can be successfully imposed on investments, how long will it be until ALL financial transactions have a new tax?
Tax Cheat Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would have you believe he is looking out for the little guy not unlike liberals in general. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, throwing cold water on a plan by congressional Democrats to tax financial transactions, said banks and other market participants would find ways to circumvent the expense.
But that is not the end of the Geithner story on the Tobin tax. “Just to be frank about it, there’s a lot of people in the business community and the academic community who are not confident that that particular proposal would be that powerful,” Geithner said. “But we’re going to keep looking at it.”
Along with other Democrats of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi favors the Tobin tax. Maybe in light of Geithner’s remarks she changed her story. But that doesn’t mean she is giving up on new ways to spend your money.
Not long after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act became law it was reported about 25% of the money went out the door. All of it was used for one of two things. Saving jobs and programs in education to payback the NEA for their votes. And more money to spend on Medicaid. Never mind that TARP funds were criticized as private sector bailouts that would never be repaid by companies considered to be too big to fail. Any concern then about taxpayer money can be ignored now that Pelosi and friends are targeting that taxpayer money for other programs in their agenda. This should make you wonder how that wonderful ‘health insurance reform’ (once called healthcare reform) will work out for you.
BTW, most Americans are not buying into Geithner’s agenda as Treasury Secretary.
Upbeat Conservative News, POLL: Geithner Performance Stinks
More voters cast their ballots in 2008 for hope and change with Obama/Biden than the ‘ticket for America’ of McCain/Palin. The main issue was the economy. A year later the economy is still in the tank. Hope and change informed us unemployment would not exceed 8% if their plan was enacted. Unemployment was above ten percent and is still at ten percent in the latest reports. Every Democrat in office in one way or another is supporting tax increases and spending in support of the liberal agenda. President Obama now owns the economy and everything else. Yet there is little evidence that the hope and change selected will be delivered. The information above demonstrates the real agenda. And you’re paying for it with fewer and fewer jobs.
Correct the mistake in 2010 and beyond.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
December 6th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Nice piece here, thank you.
I think what America is waking up to is that the Democrats have always viewed there being a “money tree” out on Pennsylvania Avenue - just go pick some more to pay for social programs that will ensure their political victories. But now, as the Democrats have to go out and pick from the “jobs tree” ….that tree not only has withered and produced no fruit, it is dead and gone.
Which leads me to my never-ending question: If the Federal government could actually create jobs and grow the economy, why wouldn’t they do that every day of the year, every month, every year? Why would they only use that ability in times of dire consequences?