Quote:
Originally posted by rogue49
Why is it that most Republicans are so oriented towards cutting taxes,
yet have helped break the budget.
Reagan did this,
and G.W. Bush is doing this currently.
This is simple math
You shouldn't lower your income, while increasing your spending.
If you do lower your income, then make sure that your spending is under control.
Otherwise you go bankrupt...and isn't this something most Republicans are against anyway?
Or is it that the "actual" economy is so illusionary
that discretionary spending is not really necessary.
The money will come, when the money will come,
and if this is so...then why are we worried about "big government"?
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There's a lot in this to respond to. I'm not sure that I can put together a complete discussion of all the issues you allude to. I'll try to just take some that jump out at me. First off, I am a Republican. Not because I believe in every plank in the platform, but because *most* of the issues (I won't go into details since it would be too long and probably too boring for most) I feel strongly about are addressed by Republicans and ignored or opposed by the Democrats. I am in no way a spokesperson for the Republican party and wouldn't even attempt to justify all of its actions. I can only speak from my own perspective on the topics you raise.
That being said, I have no problem with government spending on needed programs. I do have a problem with programs that don't seem to show results and am opposed to continually throwing money at programs in the hope that it will get more efficient or more successful. There is an immense lack of accountability in government programs and an incredible amount of waste. Cutting this waste could easily provide for the programs that our country and its citizens need. Of course, given the nature of politics and the rhetoric of both parties, cutting out unnecessary programs is nearly impossible. Costs of almost every government program go up every year. Therefore, providing new, necessary services require either raising taxes or deficit spending. Raising taxes puts a direct and immediate burden on taxpayers. Deficit spending increases the costs of government but spreads that burden out over time.
The real solution is to eliminate waste. How do we get the government to take it seriously? Well, we can't until people get outspoken about it and vote those out of office who are fiscally irresponsible. That brings us to, what is "fiscally irresponsible"? Is it any time there's a deficit? Is it a certain level of deficit spending? A deficit, in and of itself, is not bad. The vast majority of us run deficits throughout our lives. Do you have a mortgage? A car loan? Student loans? Unless you have the income to pay all of them off at any given time, you too are a deficit spender. There’s nothing wrong with it so long as you don’t get over your head. That’s the same as the government. Is the deficit too large? It doesn’t seem so since the government isn’t in jeopardy of defaulting on payments. Does it make me uncomfortable? Yep. Would I stop creating needed government programs to allay my uncomfortable feeling? No, not yet.
Big government does not just refer to the size of government but the amount of power it exerts over your life. Offering an alternative prescription plan to seniors doesn’t give the government any more direct influence over my life. Creating a new national healthcare plan that impacts my current health insurance plan does.
As far as the drug benefit, I believe there is a serious need for it. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and know how many seniors have outrageous Rx bills each month. There are senior households out there paying thousands of dollars each month for prescriptions. There are many reasons why. Anything that helps these households is worth it to me. The success that America has seen in the last 100 years is in large part due to the work ethic and sacrifices that these people have made.
Is this the perfect plan? Of course it’s not. But it's a step in the right direction. No doubt time will show the flaws in this plan (just as it has every other plan) and it will need to be revised and perhaps even scrapped.
I guess it comes down to a few beliefs that I have. The first belief is that the government can provide for the needs of the country with the taxes that are already being paid to them. The second is that deficits are not as bad as they’re made out to be. And I guess the third is that there are some things worth going into debt over.
As I said, I’m sure this doesn’t cover all the issues, but it’s a starting point for discussion.