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Monday, January 26, 2015

Republicans, Fiscally Responsible?

Everyday out of Washington D.C., we hear phrases like big government spending, small government, loop holes, government shutdowns, and fiscally responsible. We hear words like budget, deficit, debt, regulations, reform, loans, investments and economy. And everyday, just as we hear those words and phrases, we hear plenty of arguing, disagreeing and blame over which political party is more fiscally responsible and which parties policies are better for our economy.

Liberals are for big government and Conservatives are for small government. The left just spends, spends, spends no matter what the cost. The right just cuts, cuts, cuts even when it hurts a majority of their constituents. Democrats give handouts which make people dependent on the government. Republicans give corporate handouts while killing the middle class.

These debates go on all the time. Not a day goes by that we don't hear about them on the news or read about them online. So, what's considered big and small government? What does it really mean to be fiscally responsible? And which party is actually more fiscally responsible? Well, let me answer these questions for you right now...

Small, fiscally responsible government  IS NOT giving corporations billions of dollars each year just to stash away in offshore bank accounts avoiding taxation. And in the process not create American jobs that would drive our economy like they promised us they would.

It IS NOT raising taxes on the middle class, our veterans and the elderly while also cutting their pensions, benefits, social security and earned income/child tax credits at the same time just to make up for all of those corporate tax breaks. Keeping hard working Americans in poverty, forcing them onto government assistance is not fiscally responsible. Its greedy and it's un-American and shouldn't be stood for by any of us.

And it IS NOT blocking/voting down bills that regulate Wall Street and big banks-the establishments which led to our economic woes in the first place. The establishments that nearly drove us into a depression. For more on Wall Street and big banks checkout this good read from Positive Money titled "What Caused the Financial Crisis & Recession?"

This is also a good piece from the Huffington Post by Miles Mogulescu about Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and her uprising started by taking on Wall Street and the big banks. Although the call for Ms. Warren to step into the 2016 presidential race is strong and loud-as mentioned in the Huffington Post piece, I believe she is still much more valuable in the Senate-and will be for some time-fighting Wall Street and the big banks head on. She'll also be a good voice to keep Hillary in check when she becomes our 45th and 1st Madam President of the United States of America. In either case though, we need more politicians like Elizabeth Warren who truly understands what it means to be fiscally responsible.

Fiscally responsible, unlike the politicians who led us into the Iraqi War. Let me tell you all something, small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT spending six trillion and sacraficing 4500 American lives on a war that was based on blatant lies.

Small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT funding things like torture programs which cost us at least 380 million or prisons like Guantanamo Bay which cost us 454 million to operate in 2013. That is the equivalent of 2.7 million per prisoner as discussed in William Holt's article on Yahoo News. That is nearly a billion dollars for programs and a single detention center that our country condones yet still waste money on each year.

It IS NOT spending millions of dollars on these investigations into factitious scandals such as Benghazi. A factitious scandal created out of pure hatred and jealousy towards our president. And even after the administration was cleared of any wrong doing, Republicans began yet another Benghazi investigation. I believe this was the eighth or ninth investigation into the same exact incident. If you want to talk about wasteful spending you better be talking about the Republican Party. I wonder what the final cost will be once the GOP finally stops wasting our tax money on these pointless probes? And this is not even considering the millions spent on the IRS investigation in which the administration and Democratic Party were also cleared of any wrong doing as pointed out by Tom Sherman in his State Column piece.

And small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT spending millions each time they vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A law that regulates inhumane practices by insurance companies. A law that allows millions of people the opportunity to purchase health care. And not be denied because of pre-existing conditions. A law that has proven to not only be cheaper than originally thought but it also has not destroyed the economy as many Republicans tried scaring people into believing it would.

Funding wars of greed and oil, using millions of tax payer dollars on numerous Benghazi and IRS investigations along with throwing away money to try and repeal a law 50 times-over in a four year stretch as stated in Ed O'Keefe's article on the Washington Post website is not fiscally responsible. Especially when it is law that most Americans now support keeping in place. This is all wasteful spending to the fullest extent and is no way an example of small, fiscally responsible government.

And small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT cutting funding for public education just to put that money into private schools where yes, you guessed it, they, and their corporate buddies profit. Less funding for public schools, trying to force kids into paying for private school only results in overcrowded public school classrooms. Which means less quality education and less personal attention per student. Which means higher illiteracy rates and higher drop out rates. Which means poor opportunities for our youth and more government assistance paid for by higher taxes on the people who already cant afford their tax rates as it is.

And it IS NOT making college so expensive that its impossible for most kids to attend. And the ones who do attend are trapped with student loan debt until they're 50 years old. This is one of our nations biggest problems and would not be ignored by a fiscally responsible government.

Small, fiscally responsible governments would also not ignore things that would solve most, if not all of our country's monetary woes...such as legalizing marijuana. An act that would accumulate enough money to fund every school in the country. An act that would allow lottery profits to actually go towards schools. An act that could help provide two years of free community college to anybody that wants it. An act that would possibly create millions of new jobs. An act that would allow taxes set aside for infrastructure to actually go towards infrastructure. An act that would allow funding for any and all government programs. An act that would allow our country to not only balance our budget each year but to also operate in the black. An act that would undoubtedly pump billions of dollars into our economy and government on an annual basis. Opposing the legalization of marijuana is definitely not fiscally responsible.

And small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT building a pipeline through the center of our great country. A pipeline in which we do not receive any of the oil or the oil's profits. And lets be honest, any revenue we do actually see from the Keystone XL Pipeline will go directly towards the Koch Brothers puppet show known as the Republican led U.S. Congress. So, are we clear on this? A pipeline running through our country-carrying oil we don't get to use or sell for ourselves will surely end up costing us money in the long run. Costing tax payers in the long run. That is not fiscally responsible.

And never forget that pipeline accidents and oil spills can and will happen. They probably already happen more frequently than you think. Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? If not here are some reminders of the destruction caused by that disaster. And then, more recently is the Bridger Pipeline oil spill in Montana that dumped 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone river.

To take the risks associated with the Keystone Pipeline without seeing any of the benefits from the oil is so far from being fiscally responsible that it's unbelievable people are actually considering this pipeline good for our economy. Just take a look at TransCanada's safety record-the big oil company which would own the Keystone Pipeline and then tell me if you think building the pipeline is environmentally or fiscally responsible.

And keeping right in line with environmental issues, small, fiscally responsible government IS NOT denying science and global warming by blocking bills that would assure a nobble effort to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic events such as natural disasters and rising sea levels. Bills that reduce air, water and ground pollution. If Republicans keep ignoring these real problems and threats, then, in the long run, small government will be more costly than any big government research, programs, prevention or policies to stop the destruction of our planet.

Think about it. Rising sea levels alone will displace millions of people. Not just here at home but globally as well. And guess who's going to pay for it? Yes, the government. Which will eventually lead to us paying for it as taxpayers. This is an excellent read of what might happen when sea levels rise and how much it'll cost us on an annual basis over the next 90 some years.

If we start acting now, we can overt certain cost and destruction. Its all about awareness and prevention though. So, if Republicans keep blocking these very important and very necessary steps, we, as an entire country will be sorry. That is another fact.

To conclude here today, regulating things like taxes and carbon emissions and health care and cutting out loop holes might be examples of big government. But its big government in a fiscally responsible way.

Denying people living wages while raising their taxes so you and your corporate financiers can profit, regulating women's health, marriage equality, cutting food assistance, social security and health and safety regulations though are also examples of big government. But this is big government in a very fiscally irresponsible way.

I wont deny that the fact that Democrats are more big government than anything but Republicans cant deny that they're big government either-which they do. Less spending does not necessarily mean more responsible. All of these issues above are proof of that. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money and even to save money. All political parties spend money. Republicans just don't want you to think they do. So they lie straight to your faces about it. I'll tell you this much, I'll take an honest party spending money on us, the people over a dishonest party spending money on only the rich, the richer and the richest any day of the week. If you consider yourself fiscally responsible, then you would too.


Sources:

http://m.thefiscaltimes.com/all/articles-2014-06-05-without-offshore-tax-havens-these-companies-would-owe-us-much

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/04/opinion/rieckhoff-congress-military-vets/

http://www.positivemoney.org/issues/recessions-crisis/

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6338608

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE92D0PG20130314?irpc=932

http://qz.com/309339/what-us-taxpayers-paid-to-build-and-run-the-cias-torture-program/

http://news.yahoo.com/new-report--gitmo-costs-u-s---2-7-million-per-prisoner-134148004.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/07/07/benghazi-committee-33-million-republicans/12301935/

http://nypost.com/2014/11/23/gop-looking-to-discredit-benghazi-report-that-cleared-obama/

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/02/26/republican-irs-witch-hunt-cost-14-million-counting.html

http://www.statecolumn.com/2014/12/after-initial-investigation-white-house-cleared-of-irs-scandal-involvement/

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/01/1296215/-How-Much-Did-Republicans-Cost-You-With-Every-Single-Attempt-To-Repeal-Obamacare

http://time.com/61969/obamacare-cost/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/21/the-house-has-voted-54-times-in-four-years-on-obamacare-heres-the-full-list/

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064

http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_26247743/pot-revenues-starting-help-select-schools-pricey-projects

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-bp-oil-spill

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/montana-oil-spill-renews-worry-safety-pipelines-28395233

http://m.thestar.com/

http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/11/coastal-flooding-sea-level-rise-cost-annually/





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