Lately there have been more and more self-professed 'Tea Partiers' calling in to the Left leaning talk radio shows I often listen to and laying down the law as they brew it. This has allowed me to finally get a firm grip on exactly who I think the Teas are and where they come from.
The TEA Party is really an acronym for 'The Easy Answer Party'. They believe the lies they hear on Rich-Right Radio.
...When Limbaugh tells them that lowering taxes increases federal revenue they love the sound of it and they buy it. When Rush tells them that if his taxes are raised on the hundreds of millions he makes per year, then their taxes must also be raised on their sub-100k salaries...this is an immutable fact of nature El-Rushbo explains and they buy it. They don't know or care that during America's glory days (from 1940-1980) taxes on the Limbaugh class were double to triple what they are today.
...When Limbaugh tells them that lowering taxes increases federal revenue they love the sound of it and they buy it. When Rush tells them that if his taxes are raised on the hundreds of millions he makes per year, then their taxes must also be raised on their sub-100k salaries...this is an immutable fact of nature El-Rushbo explains and they buy it. They don't know or care that during America's glory days (from 1940-1980) taxes on the Limbaugh class were double to triple what they are today.
When they were told Iraq needed to be occupied by the USA they never batted an eye because they know in their hearts that God wants America to rule the world anyway and after all Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were right in assuming it would be an easy and lucrative adventure.
They supported deregulating the financial sector because after all 'society' would be safer and better with no government at all.
The Easy Answer Party are the Golden Goosers, believing that the less you invest in government the stronger your nation is. In other words, the people on the Right hand side of American politics, those most conservative and nationalistic and inclined to wage war...the very people who encouraged George W Bush to become the worst president in American history, to destroy the American economy and ruin America's reputation as the global good guys (which we earned in WWII) those are the Tea Partiers.
The Tea Party is comprised of the very people who were at the forefront of horrible policy making that put the USA in a hole as deep as that of the Great Depression; a hole so deep that if not for the unprecidented steps of the federal government to save our banks and auto industry America would be on her knees today and thereby offering the same temptation to tyrants the world wide that was offered to Hitler when the Great Depression crippled us.
Having failed so miserably to lead their country when they had the reins these selfish fools were left with only two options, 1. to shut up and let the other side have their turn, or 2. Change their name to something different and pretend they had nothing to do with the national tragedy which they had caused.
And the first statement issued by The Easy Answer Party was all too predictable...they claim that if the government that stepped in and pulled their nation's ass out of the fire had only stood back and done nothing...everything would have been just fine.
When you take away government, what you get is anarchy. What you get is uncivilized. What you get is thieves and pirates.
ReplyDeleteWhen theft isn't illegal, you get thieves. These people are too stupid to actually look at what they are saying and see what the consequences might be: they think that we will still have a well-regulated society, with police and fire protection and insurance that pays when you need it and roads and drivers obeying street signs and contracts that are reliable. Without government all these things would disappear: why should anyone, especially a conscience-less corporation, do as it promised to do if there is no one enforcing it? Sure, there'd be a few of us honorable people keeping our word, but we would quickly be killed off or starved, and only the ruthless would be left. We invented government to stop this sort of thing. What are they thinking?!?!?!
Sad but True Kim. I can't help but return to the fact that AM radio is the cheapest and most portable technology on earth for communication and we've allowed rich conservatives to monopolize it using our public airwaves. The rich selfish owners know they are pushing a fantasy, but they know they will benefit from it. I'm still afraid that the poor fools who buy their lies won't change their minds unless they hear the truth on the exact same radio stations they are hearing the lies on now.
ReplyDeleteHey libs: you are demolishing straw-men and it's rather pathetic. Who said anything about ending all government? Who is rallying to eliminate police and firemen? Limit their ability to unionize and trade sweetheart contracts with politicians they help elect, sure. But even FDR (and legendary labor leader Meanie) was against that for the obvious conflict of interest it presents (which you most likely refuse to discuss)
ReplyDeleteDebate Jefferson: "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
I await a cogent response -- but I'm not holding my breath given your warped view of how we got into the fiscal mess we're in as a nation.
Cheers,
Alex Avery
Staunton, Virginia
USA
COGENT RESPONSE UPDATE:
ReplyDeleteFrom 1940-1980 the wealthiest Americans paid between 70% and 90% in income taxes and that's how we built the .....American Dream.
HOW HIGHER TAXES MADE AMERICA GREAT-
You know how conservative radio talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are so fond of saying that Democratic President John Kennedy actually lowered income taxes?
The tax cut, which became effective after Kennedy's death, dropped the top marginal tax rate from 91 percent to 77 percent for the richest Americans. Now the rate is down to 36 percent.
All during the time we paid for World War II and President Eisenhower built our entire interstate expressway system, tax rates were around 90 percent for the wealthiest of us. And we couldn't have gone to the moon and stood up to communism without having a top rate of at least 77 percent for the wealthy.
When are Republicans going to wake up and read a book? The history of taxes in the United States can be found in any encyclopedia. America did everything great it ever accomplished with the upper tax rate for those who make millions per year at 77 percent or higher.
The wealthy pay far lower taxes in the United States than anywhere on Earth.
Facts are facts. All of our European allies and Israel have universal health care available from the government.
Facts are facts. All of our European allies and Israel have universal health care available from the government.
ReplyDeleteAnd they do it with dramatically higher taxes on the most wealthy and Value Added Taxation....
Here's another thought experiment: Is there a level of taxation that does more harm than good? I.e. Is there a point of taxation that results in diminishing returns in tax revenues collected?
ReplyDelete50% of all income above $200,000 (an income figure used by Obama that I'm using here purely for discussion purposes, so let's not get distracted)? 90%?
If there is no point of diminishing returns, why not collect 100% of all income over $200,000?
If there is such a point, then your difference with Conservatives/Tea Partiers is only statistical/mathematical.
Hmmmm.
Alex Avery
Chip, those high taxes and VATs have simply done wonders for Europe's fiscal health, haven't they!
ReplyDeleteThere's a model to emulate: crushing debt that's about to collapse the EU. The healthiest rats will soon be jumping off that ship as they are now starting to feel the weight of the sick ones pulling them under.
I do think realistically we'll need temperarily higher taxes to dig out of the hole we've dug (with the vast majority of that overspending from DEMOCRAT Congresses), but us Tea Partiers aren't going to yield on that until we get actual spending cuts. No more bait and switch, we've been fooled too many times in the past.
We can't spend our way out of debt, just like we can't diet our way out of starvation.
It's a silly argument.
Finally, on the wonders of government-universal health care: I know WAY too many Brits and Canadians to believe in the Government Health Fairy.
ReplyDeleteEVERY Brit I know who can afford it has non-government Health Insurance because the NHS is abysmal. Canada makes such private care illegal (There's freedom!) so they schlep south to the U.S. Even the premier of Newfoundland went to Florida for heart surgery, for Goodness sake!
Bottom line: I don't go to the government OR my car insurer to change the oil in my vehicles. Why should they be involved in anything non-catastrophic in my healthcare?
You use broad generalizations and emotional arguments based on half-truth. With such a self proclaimed IQ, you should know better.
ReplyDeleteA common sense but strict constructionist view of the Constitution is not an easy answer. It requires a reasonable read of the language in the context of the breadth and scope of powers delineated between the federal and state governments allowing the freedom of our citizenry to vote with their feet amongst 50 pools of liberty. Some items are federal, but most lay with the state. The tea party members I know, including myself, believe this is reasonable. It is certainly supported by judicial precedent. Your belittling and mockery is simply mean spirited and not based on truth.
In addition, the financial sector was effectively deregulated through governmental takeover under the Community Reinvestment Act and failed pseudo-governmental entities such as Fannie Mae. The democrats fought to prevent further regulation on these entities and I have seen the videos of Maxine Waters, Barnie Frank and other individuals requiring the free market to make loans to those who cannot afford them. This resulted in the US government underwriting performance on all.
On item of current interest includes the Libyan war as well as the other two. The expansive war power held by the President without real congressional oversight provides clear example of another blatant federal overreach that, through undermining our representational government (i.e., approval of war), works to again undermine states rights.
I guess the racist label has proven to be false, that the mockery of US citizens is now along the lines that only the elites can run the county because of the easy answer people. Don't rush to belittle those with whom you disagree as it exposes the ignorance of your positions.
Chip, stop being a hater, your momma probably told you that....
damn, this site is fugly!
ReplyDeleteLevels of taxation, like everything else in life, are subject to endless and inevitable changes and adjustments over time.
ReplyDeleteJust as naturally as one's diet must vary and be adjusted at times to maintain proper nutrition, so too taxation levels and laws.
Our present moment seems clearly similar to the point after the 1929 Market crash leading to the Depression. What we did with taxation from 1940-1980 would be good medicine now.
So you're going to argue with a straight face that it was high taxation that pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression? Bwwwwaaaaha ha hah ah ah ha ha.
ReplyDeleteSure, Chip, and it really had nothing to do with a 5-year global war (and build-up) followed by the massive proceeds of our rebuilding Europe and Japan. Really, it was higher taxes that finally pulled us out of the depression. Sure.
Your faith in the wonders of high taxation and massive federal control of our lives is simply dumbfounding. Truly frightening. Terrifying, actually.
God Bless.
And I'm disappointed that you failed to address even one of my cogent points -- instead just repeating the mantra (like a brainwashed cultist): "higher taxes are good, soak the rich!"
ReplyDeleteAre you even aware that there ARE NO IOUs in the treasury for Social Security (as Obama's budget claims)? They spent that money already and now they want to pretend to spend it a second time! It's utter La La Land fiscal policy and you Libs simply won't address that reality. Obama says with his budget, "What fiscal crisis?"
Any response to that besides higher taxes (which won't be enough to cover the SS shortfall)?
AA your initials are apt as you clearly need to be at an AA Meeting...
ReplyDeleteYou actually believe that our spending money to fire bullets balanced our budget? Or paying to rebuild other nations rebuilt ours?
The facts speak for themselves and you can do no better than upchuck nonsense to try and distract... From 1940-1980 the wealthiest Americans paid between 70% and 90% in income taxes and that's how we built the .....American Dream.
That's how we paid for WWII and how we paid to rebuild other nations and how we paid to build our entire Interstate Expressway System and GO TO THE MOON SIX TIMES and build every major bridge and tunnel in our whole country, which we can no longer afford to even maintain under Republican Tax-Cuts for the rich....
Now, laugh your ass over to that AA meeting.
Chip, you're missing a serious point.
ReplyDeleteI can never remember how to get linked pics to show.
http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/heritage-spending-revenue-gap-6-2010.jpg
But go to the above link and you will see from 1960-today that regardless of Federal income tax rates, actual tax revenues collected have never been more than 20% of GDP (including back to the 20s) and stick pretty close to around 18% of GDP.
The point: raising income tax on "the rich" to the levels you claim "made America great" didn't mean the government got any extra money. But it surely can affect economic growth by sending capital into hiding.
AND, the graph also shows that the real problem of the past decade hasn't been a massive drop in revenues (despite the recession), but a serious increase in spending. And NONE of this reflects the actuarial realities of Soc Security. There are NO IOU funds (which Obama is pretending are in a "lock box") from the spending of SS tax surpluses. The baby boom generation will consume ALL federal spending via SS and Medicare/caid within a decade even if we ended all wars AND ended all military spending AND ended all discretionary spending.
Now since it's Saturday, I'm off to the AA meeting with my wife, the designated driver!! ha ha.
Cheers,
AAA (yes, my mother had an A fetish!)
So
"The point: raising income tax on "the rich" to the levels you claim "made America great" didn't mean the government got any extra money. But it surely can affect economic growth by sending capital into hiding."
ReplyDeleteYou are dead wrong here. When you tax excess wealth heavily, the rich invest more money in businesses because they can't keep it personally. When they can keep it personally, they gamble with it rather than invest it, and it sinks the economy. Just like now.
And your graph is wrong too. The current problem isn't just spending, it's mostly that revenue is down because of tax cuts. Garbage in, garbage out.
Also, as rational as it may sound to someone who has only "common sense" to go by, it is not true that the government should be run the same way as your household budget. They are not the same thing and they don't work the same way.
It is also not true that WWII ended the Depression. It was actually the government throwing money at the problem that ended it. That is, giving people jobs.
You are deluded by your Corporate masters.