Cut the "Can't Cut" Crap
Episode Number: 2066Publication Date: Monday, May 12, 2008
Honest people with income and bills know that it’s possible to cut spending.
We don’t always do it when we should. Sometimes we’re undisciplined. But we suffer costs for that lack of discipline. We suffer them directly—as individuals and as families.
In the world of government expenditure, however, it’s always other people’s money being spent or misspent. And the people willing to pick our pockets don’t suffer any direct costs from squandering the funds.
From this lack of incentive or scruple they derive a theory — that there’s no way to cut government spending. They’d prefer not to, it’s a bother. So it’s mission impossible.
California lawmakers love this theory. Seems tax revenues are declining of late. Something about a weak economy. State Senator Denise Ducheny advises voters that the state’s budget deficit has now climbed to $14 billion. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez says: “The problem is so severe that we don’t have a choice but to raise taxes.”
Right. No choice but to weaken the economy even further. Make it even harder for people to pay their bills.
We’re hearing similar assertions in response to any tax-cut proposals being made in the presidential campaign. Impossible to shave more than a buck or two from federal spending. So how can we cut taxes? What a quandary.
According to my own theory, it’s easy to cut government spending. Use scissors.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
Comments(1)
These taxes are added to every step of every process of every component of every subassembly of every assembly of every unit of every part of every product made, shipped, warehoused, wholesaled, sold at retail, and bought. Complex products are taxed one million times.
Since we the people are the only ultimate source of all tax revenue:
There should be only one tax to collect all tax revenue. It should be a single, simple, fair, direct, full-income, individual tax levied on living persons for each level of government. One Tax and Done. The earned-income (a.k.a. wage) tax is regressive and is not a proper tax.
The best thing that government can do to help the state, the people, and even government is to repeal every existing tax, fee, and charge. This will eliminate these taxes from the price paid for everything by everyone – even government. Every tax that is eliminated is a tax that we the people will stop paying. These tax eliminations are spending cuts.
These taxes are the high price of everything. These taxes are the deficit.