The "gist" of the clip I linked to is that Republicans love to talk about lowering taxes, but they'll never specify exactly how low they want taxes to be. No matter how low taxes are, Republican's will always claim they need to be lower. This is clearly nonsensical, and taken too its logical conclusion, will lead to either massive deficits, or a government that is unable to provide basic services the public has come to take for granted ( or both! ). This is exactly what has been happening in Kansas due to Governor Sam Brownback's tax policy.
As sat on the train listening the clip above, I started to imagine what it would be like to debate a Republican like Brownback on tax policy ( Assuming it was an old-fashioned Lincoln-Douglas style debate in which candidates could actually ask each other questions, not today's wussy debates in which candidates just throw out sound bites to the audience. Yeah, I know that's unrealistic, but hey, this is my fantasy, not yours. ).
Brownback: Now, let's talk about taxes. My opponent has never seen a tax increase he didn't like. He thinks the government spends your money better than you do! I think you spend your money better than the government spends it! Listen carefully, he's talking about raising your taxes. *
* Stuff he actually said in a recent debate.
Me: Governor Brownback, do you believe the effective tax rate should be zero percent?
Brownback: What? Now you're being ridiculous!
Me: OK. Well, I'll take that as a "No". Unless you raise some kind of objection, I'm going to assume you agree that the tax rate should not be zero.
( Brownback looks at me like I have two heads. )
Me: So, if you agree that that tax rate should not be zero, it follows that you would also agree that the optimal tax rate is some value greater than zero.
Brownback ( looking angry ) : Of course. Is there a point to this?
Me: My point is that if the current tax rate is below the optimal tax rate, it would make more sense to raise taxes than to lower taxes.
Brownback: I can't believe you Democrats sometimes. You're just looking for an excuse to raise the tax burden on the hard-working people of Kansas. It's fine to say that tax rates can be too low in theory, but in practice, I can assure you that the last thing we want to do in this economy is raise taxes.
Me: Really? In practice we are running a massive deficit. In practice our state's credit rating has been cut. In practice, we are dedicating far fewer resources than we have in the past towards our children's education. In practice, our state's economy is stagnant. Governor Brownback, I understand that you're a Republican and tax cuts are part of the Republican orthodoxy, but at some point you've got to show that you care more about the people of Kansas than your political ideology.
( At this point, my little fantasy peters out. I'm not quite sure what would happen next. Perhaps Brownback would just charge my podium and attack me. )
Of course, a theoretical MoLewis57 candidacy is the least of Brownback's problems. His tax policy has proved so unpopular that more than 100 Republicans have endorsed his opponent in the Kansas gubernatorial race. Let me repeat that ... more than 100 Republicans are endorsing the Democrat in the Kansas gubernatorial race. So, what exactly is going on here?
Well, simply put, the Republican party has painted itself into a corner by embracing the anti-deficit Tea Party movement.
The Republicans have traditionally been the party of tax cuts, and they've always talked a big game about reducing the deficit, but if the records of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush are any indication, they've never really been serious about deficit reduction. What the the Republicans have traditionally been serious about is practically bribing people to vote for them by irresponsibly cutting taxes while keeping their hands off government services that make voters happy.
For years, Republican's have been giving voters extra money in their paychecks ( or in the case of George W. Bush, actually sending people checks in the mail ), while running up huge deficits and making no real effort to reduce the size of government. The GOP likes to blame Democrats for the fact that government spending continues to grow, but that's a rather feeble excuse considering that federal spending increased when the GOP controlled both the House and Senate during the first 6 years of the George W. Bush administration.
So, the Republicans have had a pretty effective electoral strategy over the years, but the emergence of the Tea Party is threatening their traditional electoral game plan. The Tea Party is serious about cutting deficits, but any means necessary, as long as "any means necessary" doesn't include any tax increases. In fact, they insist that taxes need to be cut, and intend to cut the deficit by making huge cuts to practically all non-military government programs. Proposing these type of policies is a good way top get applause at a Tea Party rally, and a great way to win a Republican primary, but enacting such policies is a sure way to get voted out of office, as Sam Brownback will soon learn.
As long as the Tea Party remains a powerful force in Republican primaries, GOP candidates and officials can no longer play the game of cutting taxes while letting the deficit grow. GOP elected officials now need to actually cut government services to keep Tea Party voters happy, which tends to make general election voters unhappy.
As much as I'd like to believe that the GOP will remain stuck in this Tea Party corner indefinitely, I think that a Brownback defeat in Kansas might signal the beginning of the end for the Tea Party. Eventually the rich GOP backers who benefit from the low-tax deficit-be-damned system will prevail, and the Tea Party will just be a footnote in political history of the USA.
Of course, that doesn't mean I won't enjoy watching the Republican civil war play out over the next decade.
Rich
Of course, a theoretical MoLewis57 candidacy is the least of Brownback's problems. His tax policy has proved so unpopular that more than 100 Republicans have endorsed his opponent in the Kansas gubernatorial race. Let me repeat that ... more than 100 Republicans are endorsing the Democrat in the Kansas gubernatorial race. So, what exactly is going on here?
Well, simply put, the Republican party has painted itself into a corner by embracing the anti-deficit Tea Party movement.
The Republicans have traditionally been the party of tax cuts, and they've always talked a big game about reducing the deficit, but if the records of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush are any indication, they've never really been serious about deficit reduction. What the the Republicans have traditionally been serious about is practically bribing people to vote for them by irresponsibly cutting taxes while keeping their hands off government services that make voters happy.
For years, Republican's have been giving voters extra money in their paychecks ( or in the case of George W. Bush, actually sending people checks in the mail ), while running up huge deficits and making no real effort to reduce the size of government. The GOP likes to blame Democrats for the fact that government spending continues to grow, but that's a rather feeble excuse considering that federal spending increased when the GOP controlled both the House and Senate during the first 6 years of the George W. Bush administration.
So, the Republicans have had a pretty effective electoral strategy over the years, but the emergence of the Tea Party is threatening their traditional electoral game plan. The Tea Party is serious about cutting deficits, but any means necessary, as long as "any means necessary" doesn't include any tax increases. In fact, they insist that taxes need to be cut, and intend to cut the deficit by making huge cuts to practically all non-military government programs. Proposing these type of policies is a good way top get applause at a Tea Party rally, and a great way to win a Republican primary, but enacting such policies is a sure way to get voted out of office, as Sam Brownback will soon learn.
As long as the Tea Party remains a powerful force in Republican primaries, GOP candidates and officials can no longer play the game of cutting taxes while letting the deficit grow. GOP elected officials now need to actually cut government services to keep Tea Party voters happy, which tends to make general election voters unhappy.
As much as I'd like to believe that the GOP will remain stuck in this Tea Party corner indefinitely, I think that a Brownback defeat in Kansas might signal the beginning of the end for the Tea Party. Eventually the rich GOP backers who benefit from the low-tax deficit-be-damned system will prevail, and the Tea Party will just be a footnote in political history of the USA.
Of course, that doesn't mean I won't enjoy watching the Republican civil war play out over the next decade.
Rich
