Reset The Default Positions

If the Democrat party and their representatives in Congress get their way, taxes will soon be raised, and the Bush tax cuts will expire, effectively producing another tax hike. In the process of considering the Democrat party position on tax policy, it is clear that their default positions are incorrectly set, not unlike a television set with the sharpness and brightness set wrongly. If the picture is bad, and the settings are not at the default positions, those settings need to be restored. If, however, the picture is bad, and the settings are at default, something needs to change.

I submit to you that the tax policy that was put in place around the time of FDR, and has only expanded since, is bad for America, and we're living in the Democrat's default position. Something needs to change.

Let me point out some of the specifics of the Democrat Tax Policy Default Positions.

XEKE.com will be a very happy place when Congress asks itself, "Can we do with less?"

First of all, the Number One default position for Democrats is this:

Acquire and maintain power.

I'd like to make it more complicated or profound, but it really is that simple. However, they can't come out and say it in those terms, so they've discovered that the way to remain in power is to have greater than 50% of the electorate dependent upon them. The end result is entitlement program after entitlement program: The New Deal, Alphabet Soup, welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, public education, unemployment, etc. Millions of American citizens depend on government checks and hand-outs, and those citizens cannot risk having the Democrat party out of power. (Unless they're replaced by Republicans who don't see the need to reduce the scope of government, but that's another story for another time.)

Another default position for the Democrats is:

We need social programs, let's hit up the taxpayers to get the funds.

Notice that the default position is not: Do we have the funds to support the social programs we want? The order is of vital importance. We're told that Program X is of vital importance (or is for the children, take your pick) so as a result our taxes are raised to pay for the program, and we're never asked if we can do with less.

Have you ever noticed that Congress never takes a look at their checkbook before they decide to pay for something? You and I live in the real world. When we see something we want to buy, we have to look at our account and determine if it is something we can afford. And if we cannot afford the particular thing, we either have to make a sacrifice in some other area of our life or do without the particular thing it is that we want.

Not with Congress! How many sacrifices can you recall Congress making? If there's an expenditure that they want, they go for it, because they know the bill will just come to us! XEKE.com will be a very happy place when Congress asks itself, "Can we do with less?" This is a question we have to ask ourselves all the time, but a question with which Congress never bothers itself.

A third default position is:

If Congress has to pay for something, taxes must be raised.

The dial needs to be adjusted big-time on this, because recent headlines have proven that when taxes are cut, treasury revenue increases . . . it's happening right now. Democrats will never admit this because reducing taxes empowers the taxpayer not the government, and do you remember the Number One default position for Democrats?

Still another default position with Democrat tax policy is:

Conservatives only want to give tax cuts to the rich.

This has been addressed on XEKE.com previously. In summary, consider who it is that pays the taxes and in what proportions. It stands to reason that tax cuts go to the individuals that pay the taxes. This is not a complicated subject.

The final default position for Democrats that I'd like to point out in this column is this:

We, as Democrats, know more about what this country needs, and more about what you need, than you do.

The arrogance alone angers me. It's time the electorate wakes up and recognizes that today's Democrat party is full of Liberals who want to seize control of the electorate's circumstances. Why? Because they are thirsty for power, and you're too dumb to know what's good for you. At least that's how Liberals think.

Tax policy is a mindset that lies at the core of one's philosophy. "Should the wage-earner keep the money that he has earned? Or is the government entitled to the money that the wage-earner has earned?" This is fundamental. Sure, we need roads that are maintained, sewers that contribute to public health, water when we turn on the faucet, and a military to defend us. These are benefits of living in a free, developed society, and these things have costs that we should bear.

Now what about funding artists who can't earn a living in the free market? Should the wage-earner subsidize the single mother with six kids from five different fathers? Do I have a responsibility to contribute to your health-care or retirement savings? Should 17-year-old girls get "free" abortions at the government's (our) expense? These are examples of costs that have been legislated upon us in the form of social programs/tax hikes, not by the founding fathers and the U.S. Constitution, but by politicians who seek to consolidate their power. Their default settings dictate that they take our money (your's and mine) and give it to another for the purpose of creating a dependent, life-long voter. Under any other circumstances, this would be considered theft.

As the primaries approach, and the general election is a stone's throw away, consider the underlying default positions of the candidates on your ballot. If you believe the nation's current default settings need adjusted, pull the lever accordingly.

6/20/2007