There is lots of talk about bankrupting the Federal government.  The Republicans say that Obama’s spending will bankrupt the Federal government.  This is misleading and suggests that Republican tax cuts cannot bankrupt the country. In fact, if spending can bankrupt the Federal government then so can tax cuts.    You can always bankrupt the country by decreasing taxes to the point that the taxes cannot pay for the spending, even if spending is decreased.  This is exactly what the Republicans have done. In fact, since the last budget surplus under Clinton, it has been the tax cuts that have contributed greatly to the massive deficit spending of George W Bush — plus a couple of idiotic wars.

In fact, since the Father of the Great Deficits, Ronald Reagan, started creating massive annual deficits, the Republicans have done a marvelous job of bankrupting the country with tax cuts.  Reagan got the ball rolling but lots of other Presidents continued to roll the ball down the hill of bankruptcy.  In fact, just yesterday the congressional Republicans came out with their own budget proposal which was largely just tax cuts, resulting in massive deficit spending.  Sure, keep cutting those taxes Republicans and you are certain to bankrupt the country.

So, spending and taxes are just two sides to the same coin.  The poor want to spend and the rich want to cut taxes.  Sorry — there are now lots more poor people in America.

For years Republicans have cut taxes and pushed the country into massive deficits — nearly $11 TRILLION when George W Bush left office.  Virtually all of that debt during Republican administrations and only Clinton ever had years where there was no annual deficit.  During those years of massive deficits, the Republicans’ strategy was to get the country so much in debt that the only choice (so they thought) would be to cut spending, particularly social program spending.  The Republicans never dreamed that the Democrats would be willing to spend on social programs regardless of deficits.  Well. Welcome to the world of spend it even if you don’t have it — because if you spend it you will get it.  This is just the opposite argument that the Republicans have been making for decades.

Well.  Surprise. Surprise.  Democrats don’t care about deficits.  Democrats care about people.  Democrats care about social programs to help people.  Republicans care about money and preserving their wealth.  However, Republicans overplayed their hand and have created a massive number of poor or nearly poor people who voted for Democrats.  Democrats have reached critical mass and, sadly for Republicans, there is no stopping it now.  At least not until the middle class is restored and people believe they are paying too much taxes for the services they are getting.    For now, nearly half of Americans don’t make living wage salaries so things like universal health care and social safety nets are pretty important to them.

I am not really much of a Democrat because I believe the country has plenty of money to accomplish everything it needs to accomplish — it just has to completely redistribute the wealth among all the people.  For me, I would tax 100% of all income above $1 million.   If that didn’t raise enough taxes then I would keep lowering the 100% bracket until there was enough money to fund all the social and infrastructure programs necessary to employ every American who needed a job.  There would be universal health care and enough safety nets that people would not have to worry about housing, food, health care, or any basic necessities.   Work weeks would be decreased until there were plenty of jobs available.  Wages would be increased until every full time worker was making a living wage.

Sadly, Obama, contrary to the Republicans’ chant, is not a socialist.  Obama thinks the country’s economic system can be save.  However, Obama is wrong.  This country’s system cannot be saved and trying to save it will mean certain destruction.  For that, the Republicans are right.  However, Republicans are wrong to think that tax cuts can save the country.  It will as certainly destroy America as well.  The only thing that can save America is socialism but there are few who are ready to embrace that yet.  But it will happen in time.  For now …

America is doomed.