The Tax and Spend Party

That is what they say the Democratic Party is. How often have you heard this said in an election year? I will agree that it is probably true. Now wait a minute, am I agreeing with the Republicans? Yes, I am. The Democratic Party has to raise taxes.

When a Democrat gets into office following a Republican President, there is work to be done. Often that Republican President has had a Congress which goes along with his policies. Someone has to pay the price for the Republican spending.

The Republican spending policies are like children in a candy store. They spend, spend and spend. Congress has now increased the debt ceiling four times by a total of $3 trillion since Mr. Bush took office five years ago. Someone has to be the adult and be responsible. It falls to the Democrats to clean up the Republican’s messes. The Republican Party is the Cut Taxes to the wealthy party.The spend, spend and spend party. Live now, forget the future party. The “Charge It” forward party.

In the past, we have had Republican Presidents who have spent and kept the taxes at the same rate, building up a huge deficit. We have had Republican Presidents, after their disastrous tax cuts, and after promising “No New Taxes”, have had to raise taxes, because of their spending. We have never had a President before Mr. Bush who has cut taxes on the rich, fought two wars and borrowed and spent so much money. Mr. Bush has borrowed more money than all the previous forty-two Presidents before him, combined. While cutting funding for so many poor people, veterans, school children, police, fire departments and the elderly.

But that is not enough for Mr. Bush. He has spent us into debt that is so big, that each man, women and child in America owes over $30,000.00. For a family of four, that comes to $120,000.00. Do you have the money to pay this back?

We owe 40% of this to Japan and China. Other countries have the remainder of this debt. They could call this due at any time. Just paying the interest on this is mind-boggling.

I don’t like a Communist country having that kind of hold over us. The saying, “He who pays the piper, calls the tune” in this case, is frightening to me.

But pay it back we must. It will fall on the next President and all of us to pay this off, as Mr. Clinton did. He inherited a vast debt and in eight years of careful spending and raising taxes, he gave us a surplus. While giving us also the biggest financial boom we have had in a long time. Remember how companies were paying signing bonuses to get people to come work for them? The future was bright for most Americans!

Now, Mr. Bush and this Congress have raised the ceiling on the debt. “Way too much, but not enough”. This is the policy of this Administration and the filthy rich corporations of this country.

Congress agreed to let the government borrow another $781 billion Thursday, allowing lawmakers and President Bush to pay for the war in Iraq and combat terrorism without raising taxes or cutting popular domestic programs.

The Senate, on a 52-48 vote, sent to President Bush a bill raising the ceiling on the national debt to nearly $9 trillion and preventing a first-ever default on U.S. Treasury notes. When the government reaches the new ceiling, expected sometime next year, the debt will represent $30,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

The House avoided an election-year vote on raising the debt limit by automatically sending the bill to the Senate when it passed a budget last year.

The bill passed the Senate just hours before the House was expected to approve another $91 billion to fund the war in Iraq ….

The partisan vote also came as the Senate continued debate on a $2.8 trillion budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, that would produce a $359 billion deficit. {Source}

This is the only reason, I would ever want another Republican President. I wish that one of them would have to clean this up. They would have to explain to all Americans why they were raising taxes and cutting services, (maybe the military spending?). The blame would come home to roost. But, it will once again fall on a Democrat. Hurrah for all other reasons! And the Democratic Party will forever be seen as the Tax Party. Unless we don’t let them sell that slogan anymore.

Yes, we have to be the adults. We have to pay the bills. We have to cut spending on unnecessary and wasteful expenditures.