Wednesday, July 11, 2001
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Wednesday, July 11, 2001 |
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Face it ... pendulum no longer swings By DAVE HAMRICK Have we reached the point in this still-new experiment we call the United States that we're afraid to make a real, positive change? Are we in danger of atrophy from shear fear of too much success? It's quite possible, and the tax cut that finally made its way out of Washington is a good example. If you are of one mind, you may consider this an extreme tax cut, but it's not. Consider the two extremes, and the middle ground where we now stand, and ponder whether we're making any real progress. On the one extreme you have those who hate tax cuts. Some hate them because they feel there is so much good that the government could be doing, should be doing, and tax cuts prevent that. Others, though you'll never hear them say it, hate tax cuts because their lust is for power, and having less of your money to spend as they please gives them less power. Whatever their motives, if these people had their way there would be no tax cuts, and in fact taxes would be much higher than they are now. Government would control much more than it does now, and would provide much more in services than it does now. Socialized health care is the prime example. These folks like the European system, in which the government takes care of one's basic needs from cradle to grave. On the other extreme you have Libertarians. Perhaps even more extreme would be anarchists, but anarchy doesn't count, any more than nihilism counts as a true philosophy. Nihilism is the absence of philosophy, and anarchy is the absence of government. So, the Libertarians will suffice to represent the furthest extreme in terms of philosophy of government, and their tax cut would make President Bush's plan look like communism in comparison. In fact, they would run their entire model of the federal government on excise taxes and tariffs. That government would have no Department of Education, no HUD, no Fannie Mae, no Park Service ... a multitude of federal bureaucrats would be out looking for real jobs. And the Libertarian Party's military would be about a tenth the size it is now. There would also be no war on drugs, and pretty much whatever you wanted to do would be legal as long as it didn't infringe on anyone else's constitutional rights. Legalizing drugs and prostitution is where many conservative members of the Republican Party often part company with Libertarians. If you are capable of honest reflection, you'd be tempted by either extreme. Government as benevolent parent seems to work all right for the Europeans, yet it's also tempting to imagine what you could do if you had all of your income at your disposal, and that certainly speaks to the American ideal of self-reliance and personal responsibility. Neither extreme is the final answer, but an insipid middle ground isn't either. This current tax cut is touted as a tax cut for everyone, yet it's handed out in dribs and drabs, with this first round reserved for the top four tax brackets when we should really be moving toward eliminating brackets altogether. True, everyone who pays taxes gets a rebate this year, and that's a good thing. But most of us will spend our $300 or $600 within a few weeks after receiving it. That will help the economy ... a little ... but it's hardly a permanent improvement. And about the time the deepest tax cuts come around 10 years from now, thank you very much! the bill our representatives passed automatically expires and the death tax goes back into effect, along with all the higher rates. And if Congress changes hands in the next few years, you'll never see those truly helpful tax cuts ... that's a guarantee. What we need are deep, immediate, permanent cuts. We need to reduce the burden of the government to a reasonable level, with the pledge never to increase taxes or spending beyond that level unless there's a true national emergency. Along with that we need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, because we the people are supposed to control our government, and our nation's establishing documents are the vehicle by which we gain the power to do it. The Democratic Party will probably never take us all the way to a socialist system, because the Republican Party will fight that. The Republican Party also seems unable to move us very far toward a truly streamlined government and permanently reduced taxes. We're stuck in the middle.
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