Buster on Tax Cuts

Fairly soon, some of George W. Bush's "temporary" income tax cuts are due to expire, which would of course mean that some tax rates for some folks would go back up a couple points. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner have both said that the cuts should expire, at least for the upper bracket (taxable incomes over $375,000 -- there's not a lot of those people). At this suggestion, Republicans promptly blew a gasket and harrumphed that this would be a tax "increase" which would of course "kill jobs".

This is boilerplate bullshit. Dubya's cuts were temporary, not permanent. This means they come to an end. Can we get you a dictionary? The planned return of a tax rate to its original level can hardly be called an "increase". And the temporary lower rates of the Bush years were not exactly a bonanza for job growth, now were they?

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if there were no such thing as taxes? Nobody likes to pay taxes of any sort. Nobody really wants to pay higher taxes. But everybody wants and enjoys and expects a certain level of the stuff and services that governments -- city, state, federal -- provide. And that takes money. Unfortunately, the Reaganites and the TEA-Baggers and other conservative douchebags have done a good job of demonizing the very word "tax", to the point that some dimbulb citizens get ugly and violent about it, and some pandering politicians campaign on eliminating certain taxes and opposing any and all tax increases of any sort for any purpose. (See Kasich, Portman, Stivers, et al.) This is idiocy.

As individuals, we each need funds so that we can get the stuff and services we need and want. In the same fashion, government needs funding to do its job and provide us with its share of stuff and services. So in a way, a tax cut is to government what a pay cut would be to you and me. Ever had your salary slashed or your pay grade reduced? Not fun. You survive, but something's gotta give and you make do with less. Not much different when government funding is slashed. So, if you really believe that tax cuts are a panacea that will automagically make everything peachy-keen, ask yourself: When revenue falls, what exactly am I willing to give up? How much of it am I willing to give up?

Tax cuts are not a cure-all. You don't bring prosperity by reducing funding. Trickle-down is a crock. Reagan was wrong. The TEA Party is stupid.