I think that the economy on a macro scale has a larger effect in the long run on my personal income and standard of living than a short sighted tax cut for the very wealthiest people and the really stupid diversion of SSA revenue.
I'll tell you what I'm really interested in...it's not money. It's long term advancement of quality of life. I want the entire nation to reap benefits. I want better education, more free time, more parkland, better health, less pollution...for everyone.
Paying down the debt will allow us to focus on tackling of these issues, slowly and methodically. Borrowing trillions of dollars from the future by promoting trickle down economics will not work, it never has, and it never ever will. It's a pyramid scheme...one that's mathematically certain to fail. Inevitably, the Bush tax cut, along with the diversion of yet another trillion plus dollars into the stock market, no matter how you look at it will bring the bankruptcy of the Social Security fund into this generation and will create a crises that will expand the size of the federal government probably by two, or perhaps three times. If your truly a conservative and fear the expansion of the federal nondiscretionary payroll...fear this.
Gores plan does not solve the insolvency problem that we will be faced with...but at least it puts it off for a while and tackles the problem while we have a chance. It makes absolute conservative economic sense...it pays down the deficit. It makes more of the government payroll SUBJECT TO DISCRETION. That's absolutely crucial during bad times. The Bush plan sets America up for failure, long term.
Furthermore, consider again. We are now in the longest economic expansion in history. If we start diverting money into the financial markets now, we will almost certainly increase the price of already highly priced stocks. When this economic expansion begins to tighten, as empirical evidence says that it will, the quickness of the turnaround brought about through Bushs policies could prove absolutely devastating. Consider the elements of an economic disaster that the Bush plan sets in motion.
I don't want to go to far into the details, but I'd like to bring up a realistic and probable scenario...I think your common sense and conservative thought will allow you to see the logic here.
Consider the elements...artificially higher stock prices created by sudden infusion of cash from ssa payroll taxes. SSA insolvency moves forward by 15 years. Return of deficit spending due to massive tax cut benefiting only a very few (if it benefited more, trickle down has greater chance of working at least partially...but because it is so targeted to the very wealthy, it spurs no extra spending). Market correction. SSA insolvency moves forward again because partial investment starts to create negative returns. This begins to create intense demand for govt borrowing. Capital disappears altogether; interest rates soar...further collapse of the stock market...further accelerating of SSA insolvency. These elements exist. They may be spread out...maybe moving left or right here or there...but it's a pretty good picture of what that future holds.
And, honestly...this really should be the very picture that conservatives would normally avoid...except for the fact that in this case...the labels don’t fit. The word "Republican" continues to brain wash them. If you want to have more control of your money, you absolutely must start with the non-discretionary spending. The most non-discretionary spending is interest payments.
It comes down to this, IMO...your guaranteed that the size of the government will increase at a substantially higher rate if you recreate deficit spending. And, in that case, they are going to have to raise taxes ANYWAY. The math is clear - the actuaries have reached the same conclusion. |
