There seems little doubt now that a government shutdown is certain. The battle lines over budget fights are being draw, not only in Washington, but across the nation over spending cuts. Our Federal government is well over $14 Trillion dollars in debt, and President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget will add another $2 Trillion. Outside the beltway, 44 states are also facing budget deficits. This week in Wisconsin, we are seeing the end result of the Progressive agenda of spend, spend, and spend some more. Governor Scott Walker has joined the battle against public employee unions as Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, has.
Since state and municipal governments cannot simply create more money as the our national government could, they are forced to either tax their citizens more, or borrow more money by issuing bonds. In the State of Illinois, they are so broke that nobody will buy their bonds. So the state is now selling credit default swaps as a means of raising cash.
The fight in Wisconsin boils down to years of Progressive politicians being too generous with taxpayer money to state workers. The average salary for a public school teacher in Wisconsin is around $89,000 per year. This is nearly double that of the average salary for a worker in the private sector. Some will argue that teachers should be paid well for teaching children. But considering how in most urban areas, the drop-out rate is between 25-50% in public schools, and considerably less in private schools, it would seem that public school teachers are not earning their keep. The average amount spent on teaching children in public schools versus private is nearly double. Are we starting to see a trend here?
A government shutdown is almost certain over proposed spending cuts. Whenever government tries to do something that the private sector does, the cost is typically twice as much. Given that Progressives like President Barack Obama want the government to do more, the cost of will continue to escalate at an alarming rate. Republicans in Congress, as well as those like Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin, want government to be responsible and accountable. They realize that we cannot continue going deeper and deeper into debt with each passing year. If shutting down the government is the only solution to force an adult conversation on public spending, then so be it.
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February 19th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
I don’t understand this, and the more I think about it the more it becomes a mystery to me. I know obama is a smart guy, so why is he deliberately running a huge deficit knowingly putting us deeper into debt? It’s not like this is something that’s unknown and it’s something that will come to fruition by surprise. It’s out in the open but yet he just makes like it doesn’t even exist. Furthermore this will put us way deeper into the hole. It’s a foregone conclusion that he’s going to be a “one-termer”, and I believe the American people have already decided they are going to vote against him no matter who it is. This election cycle will be a good year to run for president against obama, just gotta keep the pressure on!
“I’d rather be a good one-term president than a mediocre two-term leader”. If you were good the first term chances are you will end up with a second term…
February 19th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
the more I think about it the more it becomes a mystery to me.
He wants to make us all dependent on the govt. thus increasing his power. He needs to destroy our economic system to do it.
February 19th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Andrew maybe it will be cathartic to Congress to do this and get beyond its perpetual logjam on the big issues. Maybe Congressional politics is our National form of therapy now days. Could be. Just Maybe Wisconsin is a harbinger of things to come at the national level. Our Canary in the coal mine.
February 19th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
Close it down.
Leave Biden in Florida and Michelle in Colorado.
The country is BROKE.
February 19th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
@Faye: I like the way you think
February 20th, 2011 at 4:54 am
Faye’s a treasure!
February 20th, 2011 at 8:06 am
The best way to force an adult conversation would be to throw all those wining Republicans out of Congress and start taxing the rich the way they should be taxed, and the way they used to be taxed, before Bush et. al. ruined the country. I did not hear all this wining about the national debt when precious Bush was president. When he left office the national debt was 10.7 trillion. This is a fact that you prefer to utterly ignore. Now you want to use the national debt as an excuse to send us back to the 1890s. Turn the US into the Land of Mordor.
Every day when I arise I thank God the Democrats still control the Senate and there’s a Democrat in the White House (even though I don’t agree with a lot of what he has done). 2012 is going to be the most important election in our history. It’s gonna be life or death for our Democracy. Forces inimical to all the gains the Middle Class has made over many decades, and which have been slowly chipped away at for many years, are now arrayed, forces which are extremely powerful, forces that have always been there, lurking in the background, forces that believe that now is going to be their time. It will be interesting to see if the American people will have the will and the vision to defeat this threat to our way of life.
TAX THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MONEY. It’s that simple. Today one percent of the population owns more than half the wealth of the country. And they want more, and more, and more, and are willing to send us all to hell, teachers included, to get it.
February 20th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Klo, just a refresher for you.
You’re not that bright
February 20th, 2011 at 10:22 am
“Today one percent of the population owns more than half the wealth of the country. ”
And they pay the vast majority of your bills as well
February 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Yaye Faye !
February 21st, 2011 at 5:06 am
@ klo,
Top 1% pay 40% of all taxes.
Top 5% pay 60% of all taxes.
Top 10% pay 70% of all taxes.
Bottom 50% pay approx. 2.7% of all taxes.
If you take the incentive away from the entepreneur there will be even more unemployment. You want to blame Bush after the messiah has been in office 2 years but you refuse to blame him for spending more than President George Washington to President George Bush in one year, and you refuse to see his $3.7 trillion budget will sink us, it’s simply Bush’s fault. You’re a nincompoop!
February 21st, 2011 at 5:36 am
Ron, don’t forget to tell Klo that even if you did tax the top 5% at a rate of 100%, it would still not be enough to cover the budget deficits, and would only serve to destroy the REAL job-creators.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:36 am
This is not a tax-problem, Klo, this is a SPENDING PROBLEM!!!
February 21st, 2011 at 6:06 am
I think all of us, or almost all of us agree there is a spending problem. I don’t see how we can get a grip on things without reducing the size of government, especially federal by about a third, as well as all this state and local county and city duplication of services. But it will require we also do some foward thinking things like reduce the size of the military and the overcrowding in our prisons which means some serious reduction of criminal justice provisions. I would like to see more private schools for kids and a smaller governmental infrastructure overall. Plus we should redo the taxing scheme to make it fairer and simpler for all. It would be a big reset. But the way we are going is we are raiding the middle class to enrich the rich. Private industry which would benifit from reduction in some regulations and friction costs, is still doing very well at the very top with near two trillion sitting on the books doing nothing. We have become a more unequal society all the same with the rich gaining more and more a share of our national wealth. I don’t see how the US can really thrive without a solid middle class. But that is exactly the group we are erasing with our financial etch a sketh. Its a serious maldistribution and creating class conflict as well. Also for you on the right, that means a lot of jobs could disappear that constitute a fair chunk of our tax revenue base. There is no plan to replace those jobs. So would 16-19% chronic unemployment be good for the country to simply lower our taxes? Is any job at least a good job?
February 21st, 2011 at 6:45 am
I’d like to hear one simple, concise explanation for why “economic inequality” is an intrinsic problem. The poverty line, and the standard of living for those near it, has steadily improved during the supposedly disastrous increase in income inequality. Why is it less important for poor people to live better than it is for poor people to have a different percentage of wealth as compared to rich people?
TAX THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MONEY.
Right, so the people who have the money leave. Progressives talk about raising tax rates as if there’s a zero-sum “pie”, of which they just want a slightly larger piece. The problem, though, is that the overall size of the pie changes according to the amount of economic freedom found here.
This is reflected by the numbers — since WWII, federal tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has remained remarkably consistent, around 19%. This despite huge changes in tax policies and rates. You can tax rich people more, but you’ll inevitably end up with fewer rich people to tax, and things will balance out. Laws of supply and demand apply to tax policy just like anything else.
February 21st, 2011 at 7:44 am
It doesn’t matter what type of society you live in, a theocracy, dictatorship, socialist, communist, capitalist, etc. there will always be rich and poor. There are rich families in Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.
Atleast in this country it is easier for a poor person to become rich in his or her lifetime. It make require risks, extremely hard work, unorthodox methods, etc. but there are more possibilities here than anywhere else in the world, that’s why everyone in the world wants to live here.
That being said, why would one wish to take away the incentives for an entrepreneur to succeed after such hard work? After all s/he earned it and will create jobs by hiring and spending(which stimulates the economy). Take away the capital s/he earned through years of hard work and there will be less hiring and spending which stagnates the economy.
I’m not rich (yet) but I understand this concept. The rich have the money, always will in any society, the trick is to loosen them up to spend so others can get some of it. Taxing them more will make them hide it, leave with it, or use legal loopholes to keep it, the whole time not spending it. You cannot win this way.
Incentives are a better option. Bring businesses back to the U.S. by giving incentives, lowering or doing away with capital gains on small businesses, and giving the rich more tax breaks will help loosen things up for the rest of us.
It is a fact that the federal govt. brought in more money under former President Bush’s 8 years at a lower tax rate than the previous 8 years under former President Clinton at a higher tax rate.
February 21st, 2011 at 7:44 am
It all depends how economic inequality is achieved. If by a rigged game, or the police power of the state its simply unfair. Nobody likes that feeling they got gipped. Now if all you want to do is live on a Mexican beach somewhere and paint deck chairs and run errands for folks for $100 a week, fine, thats your business and your getting what your earning. But If big banks and wallstreet can massage your 401k buying and selling pocketing all the profit before you see a penny from your lifestimes work and savings, its unfair. If you pay slave wages and enforce that by law and pocket the profits for just yourself, its a problem regading a fair playing ballfield, which goes to the very core of a fair America.
February 21st, 2011 at 7:47 am
so I guess the feeling is, if a small group of priveledted or “connected” people can make huge profits while the rest of us slave away for a pittance, and in fact they are picking our pocket, we then say, give some money to the house. That is a redistribution of wealth, but is it a redistribution of effort and work who were underpaid and frankly taken advantage of? Yes profit is good, but at a certain point it turns into usery. A good tax system has to work a balance between it all.
February 21st, 2011 at 7:50 am
Who let the gimp out? Irrelevant points that are not applicable & makes no sense as usual!
February 21st, 2011 at 8:11 am
ron simply being overly negative is not an effective or interesting blog. your lack of engagement in the many issues just isn’t interesting blogging. And just attacking people is really a paltry dumb offering to bring to the table of discourse. Just maybe having a genuine interest and curiosity of the world around you might be more fun. really.
February 21st, 2011 at 8:18 am
Brian…
Rons right and saying to you the same sht I say to you.
You’re all over the map and irrelevant.
Those working for a pittance pay no taxes, do they ?
Which brings us to Andys short and astute rendition.
“Its not a tax problem, its a spending problem.”
So sht can the feigned outrage as an excuse to bang on your chest for the little guy in your half assed attempts to look noble.
February 21st, 2011 at 8:22 am
Brian;
“while the rest of us slave away for a pittance,”
And really, stop with the “we” and “us” bullsht.
No one here hangs with you.
If you feel like you’re working for a pittance, speak for yourself.
Its offensive and disingenuous that you assume any of us live in your screwy little world
February 21st, 2011 at 8:29 am
both of you guys are a particular political persuasian so its no surprise you think much alike and that just becomes boring. People can disagree without being demonized. But your solution is to add insults and demonization and all sorts of red gnecked voodoo to the equation. I was curious though, yesterday were you saying you were for abolishment of public schools and just go to a private school system? I assume you follow me and quickly blog over anything I say, sure, you do. are you walking in a dream? Your just projecting your offensiveness on me. obviously.
February 21st, 2011 at 8:35 am
Most people tend to earn their keep. If you work hard, you make good money, if you’re an underachiever you make less money.
February 21st, 2011 at 8:53 am
“both of you guys are a particular political persuasian so its no surprise you think much alike and that just becomes boring.”
yeah, you’re no epiphany of excitement yourself buddy.
Your off the wall incoherent irrelevant crap only makes you interesting within the weird factor. Like a freak show.
Most people would probably rather get stoned or drunk than get all catatonic and glazed over from reading your crap.
Ron and I are most certainly not the first ones here to notice this