Tax cuts or stimulus 2?

First off, the use of tax cut is a misnomer. It is not a tax cut; it's just maintaining the existing level of taxation. Tax cut sounds better on sound bites and it's easier to rally people around, "tax cuts for the rich, that don't need it" even if it's inaccurate. "Maintaining existing tax levels for every American" just doesn't have the teeth to rally opposition. Even if they attacked it as the "continuation of Bush era tax cuts" that doesn't sound as bad either. According to the arguments against, the extension will cost the government an estimated $70 billion in revenue; however, not only was it never the government's money in the first place and why does the bill cost over $850 billion? That’s more than the failed stimulus that was passed shortly after Obama was inaugurated.
Let's see if we can find out how this bill costs as much as a stimulus package. First, we must understand the political system. Congressmen often attach unpopular bills or bills that don't stand a chance to pass on their own merit to wildly popular or very important bills; obviously to increase the chance of their bill passing or hope of stopping a bill from passing. This is how earmarks, or pork barrel politics, are passed and that is what is happening to the tax bill now in Congress. Let's take a look at some of the spending that was piled on the tax bill. Of course there was the addition of the unemployment extension and the earned income credit and even college scholarship provision. Does all of that add up to $850 billion? Not yet, let's see what else was attached to the bill. How about ethanol subsidies, commuter subsidies as long as you use public transportation and of course you can't forget about the green energy. Did we hit our mark yet? Let's keep adding on. More incentives for developing hybrid vehicles, biodiesel fuel, coal and energy efficient appliances. Tax incentives for Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to jump start economic activity.
If the $70 billion figure is accurate, which history has shown the exact opposite effect on tax revenue when marginal tax rates are cut. The Melon tax cuts of the 1920's, the Kennedy tax cuts of the 1960's and the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980's have shown economic growth in all instances. If you compare the Reagan tax cuts to the Clinton tax hikes you can see government revenue rising under tax cuts and declining under tax hikes. So if history tells us tax cuts increase revenue, instead of maintaining existing rates shouldn't we be cutting taxes more? This just shows that DC hasn't changed and it's all about rewarding politicians for their votes at the expense of the tax payer. Where are we going to get $850 billion, the United States is broke?

Please see my examiner article for links. Thanks for reading.

Political payback delayed

Harry Reid's payback to political contributors was delayed. While the DREAM Act passed the House of Representatives, the bill didn't fare as well in the Senate. In the Senate, the DREAM Act was attached to a defense bill along with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bill. The DREAM Act was set to make over 2 million criminals living in our country illegally a path to citizenship. Once a citizen, they would be eligible to sponsor their entire family for citizenship, at least tripling that figure of 2 million. Illegals supporting the bill claim they can't get a job after they graduate college because of their immigration status, they mean they aren't supposed to be here and employers are following federal laws which prohibit the hiring of illegal aliens. Illegal aliens also claim they are unable to serve in the US military, last time I checked a US citizen had to have a waiver if they had a criminal background, even if they were allowed to enlist. Illegals don't have a criminal background, they are still criminals. Other supporters of the bill cite the point that they were children when they were brought here and it's not their fault. That is accurate to a degree, it may not have been their fault, by why does it make it my and every other taxpayers financial responsibility. If the federal government was enforcing their own laws, they children would have been deported along with their criminal parents. The United States is the only country that takes such an easy going attitude towards an illegal immigration problem. Some countries use their military, some build fences and some jail people illegally in their respective countries to curb immigration issues.
Reid's payback to the casino industry might have to wait as well. While the Internet Poker bill hasn't been officially defeated, Reid has not been able to rally enough support for the bill as a stand alone, so he's looking to attach it to the tax cut bill. That means that it is very likely the bill could pass. It shows what a sad state our political system is in, when payback to political contributors causes controversial issues to be attached to bills designed to stimulate a struggling economy, only to try and ensure passage. Opponents to Senator Reid's bill claim they will not allow it to be attached to the tax cut bill.

Please see my examiner article for sources.

Elections over, time for payback.

Last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was reelected to the United States Senate over Republican candidate Sharron Angle by a sound margin. Harry Reid is wasting no time continuing his agenda during the lame duck session before the new Congress is seated in January. I'm against a lame duck session of Congress for the simple reason that some of those politicians were just voted out of office but now they are there with no regard for the people. Even before Reid was back in DC, he was promising to use the lame duck session to further his political agenda. The federal government doesn't have a budget for the upcoming year and Reid is more concerned with paying back his political allies.
Rumor around Nevada is that the Hispanic vote may have put him over the top, others say the casino unions gave him the victory, either way, Reid is doing everything he can to payback those that propelled him to another six years in the Senate. United States government has no budget, no worries. United States taxpayers are facing the highest tax hike ever, not a problem. Let's hurry and pass the DREAM ACT and allow casinos to operate on line poker rooms.
The DREAM ACT is set to reward criminals by giving them free citizenship. The only catch is they have to be living here illegally, breaking the laws of the country they want to join. They don't even have be consistently living in this country, they can be given exceptions by the director of homeland security. So immigrants can illegally invade our country with their children and the punishment is free citizenship, free education, free welfare and even free medical care. Well it's not quite free, every tax payer has to cough up the money for the influx of approximately 2 million new "citizens". With our country already struggling financially, the additional burden will pile more debt, increasing the burden on every single American.
The Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 is another bill that Senator Reid is pushing during the lame duck session. Online gambling was basically outlawed in 2006 when Congress passed a law making it illegal to use credit cards for placing wagers. This new bill would allow casino operators to operate online poker rooms. Casino operators and a Senator for Nevada, is it possible there could be a conflict of interest? It's not like the casinos donated to Reid's reelection, oh wait they did. On line poker is a $25 billion a year industry, how nice of Reid to push a bill that would benefit his political contributors.


For a list of references, please refer to my examiner article of the same name.