Carpe Datum

The Tax-Cut Con

Paul Krugman has a tour de force article in the latest NYT magazine (the link I provided doesn't require registration or anything) regarding tax cuts and the role of government, in some sense a preview of his newly released book, "The Great Unraveling". If you have 10-15 minutes, it is well worth a read to get yourself educated on the current debate over taxes.

Krugman puts the current American tax burden into proper perspective, both compared to other countries and other decades in America, then he talks about the political rationale for cutting taxes. Meanwhile, he demolishes the whole supply-side argument with simple, clear facts, including the fantasy that Reagan's tax cuts did anything except put us deep into debt, just as Bush's tax cuts will do.

Tax-cutting conservatives are trying to force Americans to make a choice (though they don't say this): Do we want super low taxes and give up the social safety net programs of the New Deal and the Great Society (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid), or do we want the same modest taxes we've had for decades (with a lot of prosperity in the mix, I might add) and keep these intact, along with paying down the now monstrous debt? Conservatives are betting they can sell the former, but their vision of a pre-Depression level federal safety net is bleak. Not that they care, because they're all filthy rich. These geniuses have figured out how to say "Let them eat cake" in a way that makes the Moron American middle class think they're receiving a favor.

I can understand their philosophy and even respect it (though I disagree with it). What pisses me off is the fact that they *know* people wouldn't support it, so they are intellectually dishonest when they try to sell it to the public. That kind of shit is exactly the opposite of what made America great, but the greedy jackasses funding all the PR nonsense just don't give a damn.

You may wonder why no one questions their patriotism? Why is there not a continual uproar over the wealthy and their corporations doing business via foreign tax havens, avoiding taxes however they can while Bush asks us all for sacrifices? Why is there no outrage over the fact that they got theirs and now they say screw the safety net for everyone else? I'll tell you why: they fucking own the media. And every time they hear someone call it the liberal media, they're laughing all the way to the (offshore) bank.

Posted by Observer at September 17, 2003 07:01 AM