I am just saying that “tax cuts pay for themselves” is predicated upon a growing economy. But the shortfall can be more quickly closed by the contraction of government spending. Should not we as conservatives be just as focused on contracting the size and scope of government? I’m just saying we cannot forget about that side of the equation, as the GOP has done for the last 8 years.

The current financial crisis was not caused by our free-market economy. It is the direct result of failed government policy. The government had no choice but to attempt to stabilize our banking system, because our free-market economy relies on the liquidity and transparency of our banking system. That said, I certainly differ with the path chosen by the Bush Administration.

Tax cuts pay for themselves. They do not have to be “paid for.” It’s that simple.

Budget deficits are the result of deficit spending. They can occur regardless of, and independent from, the tax rate.

Borrowed tax relief is simply providing tax cuts without accompanying cuts in spending. In small amounts this is manageable (though bad policy). On the level that the government is spending these days with budget deficits approaching $1 trillion, the call needs to be for both massive tax AND spending cuts.

Take the concept of providing tax cuts while maintaining or increasing government spending to the extreme, and you have a governement entirely financed by borrowed money or printed money. Either way this will come back to bite the American taxpayers in the end when the “credit card bills” come due and their wealth is diminished through inflation.

“While I favor improving oversight by our federal housing regulators to ensure safety and soundness, we cannot pass legislation that could limit Americans from owning homes and potentially harm our economy in the process.” – Minority Leader Harry Reid, United Press International, (7/28/05)

Six Years of Unheeded Warnings for GSE Reform

These are just the calls for reform and measures requested by the Bush Administration in 2008:

February: Assistant Treasury Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, saying “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow state housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President’s call for action and passes reform legislation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

September: Democrats in Congress forget their previous objections to GSE reforms, as Senator Dodd questions “why weren’t we doing more, why did we wait almost a year before there were any significant steps taken to try to deal with this problem? … I have a lot of questions about where was the administration over the last eight years.” (Dawn Kopecki, “Fannie Mae, Freddie ‘House Of Cards’ Prompts Takeover,” Bloomberg, 9/9/08)

The current financial crisis and subsequent deficit spending are the sole responsibility of the Democrat Party and their allies.

Query: What is borrowed tax relief?

I’m under the impression that the only reason for the federal government to borrow money is deficit spending. Which is an entirely different issue than tax cuts.

Republicans need to offer a paradigm shift in thinking. How much of a contrast would it be if the GOP leaders in Congress came out against any type of so-called “stimulus” and instead proposed massive spending cuts to balance the budget and provide real (not borrowed) tax relief. I don’t think it is sufficient to just sit on the side and wait for bad things to happen in hopes the American people will come running back to the GOP. A positive, bold, radically different prescription needs to be offered to lay the groundwork for when this “stimulus”, like all the others before it, crashes and burns.

As Mises once said, “Middle-of-the-road policy leads to socialism.”

I have to assume from your response, that you must fall somewhere among the 57.4% of Obama voters who, according to Zogby, could NOT correctly say which party controls congress.

Hint: It’s the same party that’s responsible for the $1.2 Trillion budget-deficit.

Obama Uses Poll, Focus Groups to Sell Stimulus Plan to Congress

President-elect Barack Obama’s top political aides are transplanting their campaign tactics to the policy arena, using data from polls and focus groups to shape the debate over a stimulus plan that may cost at least $775 billion.

David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political adviser, along with campaign media adviser Jim Margolis, are encouraging lawmakers to use the word “recovery” instead of recession, and “investment” instead of “infrastructure.” Those recommendations came from focus-group research indicating that such framing would make the package more appealing to voters.

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Can we vote these people off the island now or do we have to go through a civil war to deal with this ?

Ciao.

PS: The war in Iraq? Not in your name, parliament.

Not then, not now, not ever.

The Republican Party OWNS the 1.2 TRILLION dollar deficit. Kinda unrealistic to say you don’t want to be any where near them when you caused them! This is funny!

So 2/3 of this travesty increases spending and the size and scope of the government in exchange for 1/3rd of it that lowers taxes on people who don’t pay taxes…We to go guys…