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July 17, 2003 I just saw a poll that puts Grey Davis’ approval rating at 23% and personally I thank that is way too high. Hey, I live in New Mexico what do I care about what is going on in California? As a massive population center, it is a really good place to use as a model for results of far left policies in action. Can you imagine a state with a tax base the size of California being in debt? California is $38,000,000,000 in debt. So what does this mean? Are people going to be stuck in Its A Small World when the power gets cut off? No. It won’t be anything that dramatic, although if the impact were immediate more people might care. The solution will be to increase taxes. Urban centers in California already pay some of the highest income taxes in the U.S. They also pay one of the highest in gross receipt taxes. And they are still broke? The real question is what should be the role of government. Just like in your household, if you spend more than you make you rack up debt. You either have to cut your spending, or get a second job. In the world of Democratic California, it is verboten to cut spending. That would be too harsh. They can get more money right out of the taxpayer’s and this isn’t harsh? Californians have the highest gas tax which is supposed to be maintaining the highways, restoring the environment, and to some degree to give a penalty to people who drive too much. I am always in favor of maintaining the infrastructure and protecting the environment, but you gotta wonder what the people of California have bought for their money. Imagine you had a business and you gave an employee a credit card to buy supplies. You would want to see a receipt and would want an explanation for anything they bought that you didn’t approve. In government, we elect people who are given trust to justify their expenses. But it doesn’t really work that way. Saying that you maintained a budget is not a sexy re-election statement. But if you can appeal to a group of some kind and show them how much you have done for them, now we got sex appeal. Everybody wants a piece of pie when someone else is buying. In the case of California, you can imagine that pie is eaten with a few crumbs left, and everyone sitting around the table is trying to ignore the bill. Whenever the idea of cutting expenses is brought up you will hear a chorus of “what about the children, what about the elderly.” The opponents will say that the politician who wants to cut spending doesn’t care about underclass and is in bed with big business. You will never hear more than a lone voice from the wilderness saying, “Our children will be paying off this debt for how long?” When we talk about quality of life, there is seldom a thought to how much tax burden we are passing along to the next generation. It is interesting that a forest is seen as a resource but taxes can be squandered. I know that I am not the first to point this out, but take a look at your paycheck. There are two sets of numbers on the bottom. You have gross pay and net. The gross is how much you earned. The net is your gross minus your taxes and some benefits. So, would you like to have more of your money in your control? I hope the answer is yes. It is great to think of a society where the poor don’t have to worry about their children’s health and education, where the immigrant doesn’t have to fight a complicated system to work here, and where the environment is clean from human footprints. It would be a nice place to live except for one complication. Every new program under government control comes with a mountain of administrative duties, benefits that have to be paid for those employees, and federal guidelines that have to be met to keep the money flowing. As we approach a national health care program I can only groan. We have one. Medicaid and Medicare. And lets not forget your social security benefits. These were all started to help the underclass and now we need something more. I can imagine very clearly what such a program will look like. It won’t be a nice doctor’s office with old magazines and a fish tank. It will be harsh lighting, white tile, and a long line with a room full of screaming babies. In other words, if you want a preview, go to your local Social Security office, or Veteran’s hospital, or methadone clinic in your town. That is what you are already buying with your tax dollars. And now they want to add new programs, but where will the money come from? In California, Grey Davis and cronies have spent and spent, once in a while made a snide comment about President Bush, and then gone back to the spending. Like the money could never run out. Well, the bill is here and Grey Davis is trying to look the other way. With an approval rating of 23%, do you think he has a prayer at continuing his political career once Arnold Schwarzenegger, or whoever, throws him out of the office? I doubt it, but you know Gary Hart almost made a comeback. Bill Clinton got into the White House after ransacking the state budget of Arkansas. We’ll just have to wait I guess. So, when I asked if you could imagine a state like California going broke I could do you one better. I can imagine a country going broke paying for gargantuan government programs that are funded just enough to scratch the surface and then a new program is created along side it. And this patter keeps going until you don’t have any actual take home pay. It all goes to taxes. And the kicker is there will still be people with needs and politicians willing to spend us into oblivion. Once we start to see all of this crazy taxing to be like a huge lumber company clear cutting a redwood forest then we might see a change. Taxes increase gradually and we don’t see our paychecks disappearing all at once. It is nickel and dimes, but it does add up. Generally speaking, when we think of civil rights and the constitution we rightly think of women getting the right to vote, desegregation, and, for me personally, the repeal of prohibition. But these are all fairly modern. What was the big deal with the Constitutional Convention and all those dead white guys with the wigs. They brought to life a new idea. After being taxed for goods that they had to buy England, they set down a new concept: limits on government. This was radical for the time because until then governments, mainly royal dictatorships, had limited the actions of the people. The concept of government for the people and by the people is unique. Unfortunately, the statement “government for the people” has been misinterpreted as a justification for endless entitlements. If we want to continue to define the spectrum of rights, economic rights need to be considered. I know that the same taxpayers who are so mad with Grey Davis are the same people who elected him, but it isn’t fair to say they get what they deserve. The excuse will undoubtedly be the economy and President Bush. That’s fine, but the Davis administration must explain why they didn’t see the economic changes happening around them and take more responsible actions. ------------ About the author: Edward Lyell is politically active in New Mexico and has been a small business owner and currently works as professional counselor. Once a great Democrat, he became another one of the disenfranchised during the Clinton presidency. He categorizes himself as a firm believer in Objectivism, free trade, and the Constitution. Email Edward Lyell: Edsterl@aol.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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