Tax Cuts: The New Religion
Wick Allison dismisses Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's defense of the Bush tax cuts as the "same tired - and easily discredited - mumbo-jumbo that comes directly from the Republican Nat’l Committee, circa 1985." He describes Republicans as being "locked in an ideological mind-set whose chief attribute is recklessness." In other words, as having a religion-like attachment to tax cutting even in the face of burgeoning debt for uncontrolled spending on war and social programs.
Trey Garrison proves Allison's point in his own blog followup, in which he defends tax cuts as a goal in themselves. In his religion, "the problem is the spending." "And that means everything from health care and welfare (individual and corporate) largess to maintaining military forces around the globe." In the gospel according to Garrison, spending itself is bad. Period.
Garrison even quotes the sainted Milton Friedman as saying, "The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country." In this view, civilization is antithetical to freedom. Only hermits are free.
Garrison's is a decidedly minority viewpoint. Only an ascetic condemns spending as an evil in itself. More people judge government spending practically, using the same criteria as personal spending. Does society get value for money? Can cooperative relationships (families, neighborhoods, corporations, cities, nation-states) provide for defense, education, health care, retirement, etc., more efficiently than individuals? If yes, then the spending is good. If not, then it isn't. There's no fixed level of taxing or spending that's either good or bad. Except if you worship at the altar of the new religion.
None Of The Above
There's good news and bad news in the Republican primary runoff between Angie Chen Button and Randall Dunning to represent District 112 in the Texas House. The good news is that one of these two candidates has to lose. The bad news is that one of them is going to win.
Chen Button is the DART board member who managed to overlook a billion dollar budget shortfall on her watch. She prefers to talk about the evil illegal immigrants. She's buying a seat in Austin with a huge advantage in campaign contributions, including $160,000 from herself that she loaned to her campaign. Dunning is the former Garland city councilman who doesn't believe in evolution, thinks government should get completely out of education, and was once fired after carrying a gun in his car at work in violation of company policy.
Angie Chen Button prevails, 53% to 47%. Either money talks or Randy Dunning is proof that there is such a thing as a candidate who is too conservative for even this north Dallas district. Maybe both. Angie Chen Button will now face the Democrat, Sandra Vule, in November.
2 comments:
"More people judge government spending practically, using the same criteria as personal spending. Does society get value for money?"
Absolutely right. For instance, if I spend my money on any publication that publishes material by Trey Garrison, I do not receive value for my money.
LOL. I don't think I'd make as sweeping a statement as that, but now that I think of it, I don't have a subscription to D Magazine.
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