TAX & SPEND: A Tale of a City, Two States, and a Nation

I can see the darkness at the end of the tunnel. As a conservative, living just outside NYC, I am dismayed at the spread of "tax & spend" liberalism across the "heartland" of the nation. Here's a quick primer, for those who don't get it: The two states with the highest tax rates (NY and California) also have the highest budget deficits. NYC's Mayor Bloomberg has declared it a "luxury" city, as if there were no place for "commoners," and NYS' Gov. Paterson has said that NY'ers can avoid his new proposed taxes by "not buying those things." Way to encourage economic prosperity, idiots! Gov. Schwartznegger's attempt to spin his "green" economic plan as "kicking ass" is true, in one way: it's kicking the average working joe or jane's ass!


What we have here is a "perfect storm" of foolish liberal policies. Both of these governors are coming, "hat in hand," to the federal government for a hand out, when the federal deficit is at record levels. Bush will rebuff them this year, but he's not the target of their current lobbying. We have the most liberal Democrat ever elected coming into the White House, and he has said he's going to "spread the money around." Roll the dice, and place your bets on who wins the lion's share of the pot!


I have faith that we will endure, through whatever tough times are ahead. I have seen the failure of similar policies before, and read about even earlier failures of these policies. The fact that Obama, Arnold, Paterson and Bloomie have all compromised to some degree with conservative opponents is what sustains my faith. I just worry that when Obama is in office, and working together with them, that they may exclude the conservative point of view.


Time will tell, and the liberal media is sure making a point right now of ending Obama's "honeymoon" before he takes office. Will this prod him into a "more liberal" policy, both economic and regarding national security? Or will it make him think "screw it, the libs are going to hate me, no matter what I do," and turn to a more moderate policy on these issues? He's screwed, either way. President-elect Obama is stepping into the deepest "doo-doo" that any president in my lifetime has had to step into, arguably.


"Tax and spend" may well become the policy of the day, but even a productive nation such as ours has limits on how far that policy can go. The economic crisis won't be solved by this classic liberal policy combination, and the nation won't keep a leader in office who can't find a way to turn the economy around. Obama has one term to fix this, and fairly or not, that's what he'll be judged on.


Bloomberg is history, even after changing the law to let him run for a third term. His plans to squeeze more money out of average NYC residents and homeowners will not be forgotten by next year's election. The same goes for Gov. Paterson, who bizzarely claimed "we'll take over Saturday Night Live" at a political rally. See, they weren't making fun of his blindness on that infamous SNL show. They were making fun of how politically clueless this guy is. Our economy is going to hell in a handbasket, and he's raising taxes on "regular" soft drinks, and "music downloads"...and BEER! (Harumph!)


California is it's own separate tax hell, but I've read enough to sympathize with them. Governator Arnold wants to be president, and maybe he should be allowed to, under the principle of "failing upward." He couldn't be any worse than Paterson or Bloomberg. He could be worse than Obama, if he tries really hard (as he's doing now, as Governor). I pray for my friends and family in that beautiful state, and hope the rest of you pray for me!


I predict higher taxes, and higher government spending for the forseeable future, on the federal level. While higher spending is nothing new, raising the tax rates is in direct contradiction to the president-elect's promise to cut taxes for 95% of working people. Obama's pre-election "tax calculator" said I would save $500 next year. I'll believe it when I see it, thanks.


Here are some recent headlines, with links:


Business As Usual


Gov's Tax & Spend Shocker


Paterson Punts


Paterson dishes up the same old me$$


Postponing Reality Dr. Thomas Sowell


Counterfeiting versus monetary policy Dr. Walter E. Williams


It's no time to panic Jonah Goldberg


Dollar to donuts - Ben slashes rates to near zero: greenback slammed

Comments

Mike said…
Good blog here..intelligent writing too!
Best wishes
Mike in FL
CHRIS LEAV said…
Thanks, Mike! Love the icon image!

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