ok, ok, I wanted to get in here on the tax debate
First, the money going to free Iraq, I am as sure as I can be that the future Iraqi government will pay us back. Now before anyone points it out, I realize that we forgave the French the 2 times we bailed their butts out, but I think we would be very stoopid not to get repaid back, also I think we have a moral obligation to help the Iraqi's after we let them down after Desert Storm I when we encouraged them to revolt and they all died when Saddam slammed them down. Also, if we can help them along to democracy, then that will can not hurt.
Income Tax--the top 50% of Income tax payers pay 96% of Income tax's, that is from IRS figures. I think a flat tax would be more reasonable (a very low one) then have a national sales tax, so if your rich and buy rich things, you pay! I would make congress put a super-majority requirement on that (both the flat tax and sales tax).
Payroll Tax (SS and Medicaid)--Is a social program that is just a huge bloated, mismanaged organization. Both programs were implemented with good intentions, but are ran hideously. If I knew 90% of their budget went to the people that need it then I think it would viable, but when I hear a SS official say that we had to spend ever dollar (which went to new furniture and bonuses) so we can get more next year, that is messed up, a company cant survive with that attitude.
Also, there is NO politician (right or left) that will EVER decrease Payroll Tax, that would make all liberals scream "they are taking these social programs from you". They do need to privatize them, or work to that direction, it is inefficient as it is now, more money will go to overhead and NOT to the people that need it.
SS was started to SUPPLEMENT retirement, but has become many peoples sole retirement income (that just shows you that many people will not take responsibility for their own future when they think the government will do it for them, sad really), then they added disability ect... that just made it a bigger hand out program.
The prescription bill coming along will be such a bad thing it wont be funny, not just because it will be ANOTHER social program, but it will force people out of their employers/retirement programs and into a national program, that will be bloated and cost more than what the private sector can do it for.
Finally, something that has got my attention recently is the United States Constitution. Specifically Section 8. This is where the Founding Fathers spelled out things, like what is the role for the Federal Government. To make it brief, the US Government shall Provide for the Common Defense and general Welfare of the United States (and NO, I don't think they meant social welfare programs). To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, the States and Indian Tribes. To establish rule of Naturalization, uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies through the U.S. To regulate and coin money and fix Standard of Weights and Measurements. To establish Post offices and post roads. To raise and support Armies, but NO appropriation of money to the USE shall be for a longer term than 2 years. To provide and maintain a Navy. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces. There are other things related to foreign relations ect...but you should get the idea of what our Founding Fathers had in mind. That the federal government is for the protection of the nation as the whole, and if you read more in the constitution, they wanted all rights go to the States for self government, so they can decide how the best way their population wanted to live. The only real exception was that there was no law against going across state borders, so if you didn't like how one state did things, there was no law that kept you from moving elsewhere.
No where did the Founding Fathers say that the Federal Government was the be-all/end-all, cradle to grave, hold your hand for everyone. The Great Depression allowed the Federal Government to assume powers that were never intended for the Federal Government. True, many things helped the nation get back on its feet, but at a cost that we are still paying today. If States kept control, but was subsidized by the Feds, that would have been legal (as far as the Article 8 of the Constitution). I also think that most politicians had good intentions, but they unknowingly created a beast that will never be satisfied, the more money you put in it, the more it demands, it does not care about results, just more money. (and if you doubt that, just look at our education system, we could dump $100 trillion more each year and it would not improve children's education, because when you have kids that can not past a graduation test that they can take 5 times and only have to get 40% correct with the amount we spend now, well...).
I am not naive enough to think we can get back to what our Founding Fathers intended. But there ARE too many Federal Government programs that need to be either privatized (so money gets to the people that need it) or shut down. I do not think we need to subsidies the phone industry, we don't need to subsidies farmers especially milk producers (I mean, a gallon of milk costs more than a gallon of gas), if we could get to a flat tax, then I would like to see no more deductions period. No more Corporate Welfare, it will be hard to just throw out a blanket statement that no more corporate subsides, but I am sure many of them are not needed other than a form of PORK.
There is no reason NOT to help people that need help, but as a tax payer, there is NO reason that any program shouldn't be ran efficiently. That is just common sense, sadly that is lacking in our Government.
Ok, golly that took me a while....
