The Great Tax Swindle

Today Barack Obama once again caved to the whims of the GOP who are in the minority and able to with a cabal of 40 or so Senators do the bidding of the monied interests against the interests of the nation.

Barack Obama campaigned relentlessly on the issue of allowing the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy expire as a measure to help shore up the national balance sheet. Unlike Rep. Boehner's notion that this didn't produce certainty, he also called allowing this tax break to expire job killing.

If that were true, then for every quarter since these cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003, the U.S. economy should have grown by leaps and bounds. The facts point otherwise. Since George W. Bush came into office, the economy has hemorrhaged jobs steadily until Obama came into office where job gains had been seen for the first time in many years. There is zero evidence over the last 20 years that there is any correlation between low tax rates for the wealthy and job creation, or economic prosperity for the rest of the nation.

What is worse, is the fact that tax cuts at the federal level lead to increased overall taxes. The reason is simple, government services that we all expect have a finite and known cost. We know how much it costs to hire a food or mine inspector, a police officer, a fireman, a teacher, we know those costs with great certainty. For many of these positions, federal money is used to offset local costs as a means of returning the tax revenue to the local community in a meaningful way.

When federal taxes are slashed, these costs are passed on to states and municipalities. The funds available to help fund public schools or police officers are cut as a result of the federal tax cuts. Most people would not go without adequate fire, or police protection so the money to keep these functions afloat must come from somewhere. That somewhere is local taxes. When federal taxes are cut local taxes such as fuel, sales and property taxes raise as a result.

So in the end, Federal income tax reduction is an illusion. Unless you are prepared to give up much of what government provides that small break ends up costing you more. It is our government which builds our road, provides schools for our youth, provides emergency services to the community, funds our armed services, provides inspectors to ensure safe water, food and workplaces, these services are not things many take lightly.

I wish Obama would grow a spine and veto any legislation that extends the tax cuts on the wealthy and make a stand. Those cuts are cuts we cannot afford, do nothing to spur job growth, and money that can be best spent elsewhere. Make a stand and sell that to the people. Americans are not in favor of those tax breaks, and the messaging war can be won on that basis. Stand tall like Truman and make a stand now before you find yourself challenged from the base in 2012.