You want higher taxes? For this government?

Las Vegas Review-Journal ^ | 27 jan 08 | VIN SUPRYNOWICZ

[rellimpank]

A reader writes in:

"In response to a recent editorial, entitled 'Higher gasoline taxes?' that stated that because 'family paychecks barely cover basics, the money [needed to repair our country's crumbing infrastructure should come from] somewhere else.' What could this 'somewhere else' be? ... Is the Review-Journal advocating higher Federal income taxes, or a new national sales tax, or new toll road like user fees to pay for this? Also, how would higher withholding or sales taxes or higher user fees put more money in the pocket of the U.S. consumer? However defined, 'somewhere else' is just cost shifting."

Aside from noting the inappropriate capitalization of the word "Federal," above, the way one might capitalize the word "God," does anyone else notice a whole category of places omitted, where the central government could quickly and easily "get the money"?

In an admittedly very incomplete list, how about closing down the federal Department of Education -- ending all federal subsidies and interventions in schooling, overnight?

We were a much more literate, independent, and productive nation 140 years ago, before government got massively involved in schooling

[rellimpank]

--the weekly Vin--

[MiltonFriedmanFan]

We should make a deal with the democrats. We will increase the transportation budget by 25% if they agree to cut unemployment benefits by 25%.

[socialismisinsidious]

How pathetic. What kind of Dumb Pills are Americans taking?

I've asked myself that very question.

BTW: when the letter writer writes 'get the money somewhere else' he/she means tax, take the money from someone else. Socialism has been well taught in this country. And when he/she writes: 'family paychecks barely cover basics' basics means cable, gymnastic lessons, game systems, cell phones, dinners out, fast food, big screen t.v.s, another pet and vacations.

[Bernard]

As long as it seems to be working so well for Barck Obama, I'll offer an idea from the past that may sound new to people under the age of 30: Zero-based budgeting.

Start over from scratch, and fund only the important things. It could cause a major realignment in government spending and staffing, but what the heck?

[RSmithOpt]

The folks in government seriously under calculated the net effect of illegal immigration.

They probably thought the economic boost to the demand in housing and the retail sector would cover the costs of more new schools & teachers, food stamps, surge in jail populations and free medical and the void of tax income from the illegals' tax free incomes.

Then again people with our government with masters in sociology, plant pathology, English etc., are not well known to have a good command of statistics and probability. The dedicated need of which, when making public policy and budgets, seriously interferes with their perceptions of Utopia, reality and increase in personal salaries.

New math at its best!!

[PubliusMM]

How about this? Subject ALL Federal Departments, Bureaus, Agencies, and Offices to SCOTUS review of Constitutionality. The ones that don’t pass muster get 180 days to shut down, with funding reduced to maintenance levels for that duration. The ones that don’t pass muster would then require a whole new rethink in order to get past the Constitutional issues raised by their current existence.

Dept of Education? Gone
Dept of Energy? Gone
Dept of Agriculture? Gone
HHS? Gone

Welfare? Gone
Medicare? Gone
Social Security? Gone

Seems to me that only a few clauses in the Constitution have been used in the advance of the Liberal agenda...the Interstate Commerce Clause, and the General Welfare Clause among the ‘biggies’. A strict constructionist SCOTUS with the cajones to stand up for the Framers’ intentions would go a long ways to putting us back on the right course.

Equality of opportunity makes sense. Equality of outcome is socialism.

[Clintonfatigued]

The libertarian ping list should have some incisive things to say about this.