Driving home today, listening to the elitist liberal propaganda radio station otherwise known as NPR, I was struck by a general irritation with politics. Now don't get me wrong, usually I love politics (truly, I do, just ask any of my friends who are sick and tired of hearing me promote the latest cause or express my complete outrage with some miserable situation -- I live and breathe for political discussion, right after cute shoes and a giant English manor house with a limitless decorating budget).
But here's what's sticking in my craw: why the HELL can't the Republican party come up with some other solution for our national debt besides cutting taxes and spending?? I'm sorry, but if I notice my household finances are out of whack, of course I cut back on spending in order to get out of debt, but I never, ever, not in a million, trillion, bazillion years also decide to cut my revenue. I mean, honestly -- if I'm in debt, I'm looking around for some other ways to make money, like dealing suger-laced baked goods to the kids or selling domestic-themed lap dances or something. Maybe a striptease involving irons and a lacy apron . . . hmm.
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| Borrowed from MadPhotog |
My future money-making aspirations aside, I know that Republicans very rarely cut taxes the way they claim to want to. GOP god Ronald Regan actually RAISED taxes considerably during his presidency: after his big cut in 1981, he increased taxes twice, resulting in the lower- and middle-class actually paying a greater percentage of taxes than they had in 1980. That's right, Ron raised taxes - because it was the right thing to do, in order to rectify budget mistakes that had been made when calculating his initial tax cut, and then again to help sustain Social Security and Medicare. And he had bipartisan support! (source)
This is to say, I'm not asking Republicans give up their "make less, spend less" platform when it comes to government budgeting, but could we please ratchet the dedication to the rhetoric down a couple notches? This country is in a major mess, money-wise, and while I agree we need to eat out less, now is hardly the time to quit the second job so we can have more free time. Let's go find that lacy apron!
In other words, now is the time to urge your congresspersons to let the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy expire -- continuing to lose that revenue is a luxury for the few that we cannot sustain. Check out these sites after the jump for ways you can make your voice heard in this debate and get involved:
- To figure out who your congresspersons are, and how to contact them, click on the following links:
- To sign a petition and get involved with TrueMajority, US Action, and The Other 98%:
- To sign a petition and get involved with Credo Action:
- And finally, to read a very heartening letter to the president from the people who are actually affected by the tax cuts, urging him to repeal the cuts in the name of responsible policy (these are real people, urging the president to raise their real taxes -- massive props for doing the right thing!):
Sorry the formatting is so wonky right now -- Blogger and I can't seem to get along tonight. Hopefully I'll have it fixed soon!
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