Election 2012

The great debate has begun. Obama and the Dems would like to make it about taxes. Why? Because this issue goes to the core of what America is and will be all about in our lifetime. Why should you, (the middle class) pay a higher tax rate than that of multi-millionaires, or folks making over $250,000 a year? Due to the Bush era tax rates enacted a decade ago, rich folk are taxed at a paltry 15% compared to the average working person, who’s looking at roughly double the tax rate. Obama would like to let the Bush era tax rates expire for the rich, but keep them for the middle class. The Republicans would like to make the Bush tax cuts permanent for the rich and the middle class or at least extend them.

It Takes an Act of Congress

If congress does nothing, then all the tax cuts will expire at the end of this year and everyone will pay higher taxes, neither party wants that. Unfortunately it literally takes an act of Congress to change the law, or give it another temporary extension, like they did 2 years ago.  The problem is, Congress can’t agree on what to do. The Republicans hold steadfast to the ideology of “No new taxes”, and the Democrats believe everyone should “pay their fair share” of taxes, in order to balance the budget and provide services. So, they are at an impasse.

Reaganomics

The Republicans argue that taxing the rich will kill jobs. After all, aren’t these rich folks the business owners who hire people? If we tax them at a higher rate, won’t that stifle business growth and prevent them from hiring new workers or even laying off existing ones? This is also known as “Trickle Down Economics” or “Reaganomics”. A term obviously coined during the Reagan era.
The Democrats point to the massive deficit George W Bush visited upon us with these tax cutting measures, and that the way to reduce the deficit and continue to provide needed services to the American people is to tap into the billions of dollars in potential revenue that the rich are sitting on. And besides Reaganomics (also known to opponents as “Voodoo Economics”) has never worked.

What’s a voter to do?

It’s no coincidence that the tax cut extension was set to expire in a presidential election year . Both parties are looking for a mandate from the American people. So basically a vote for Mitt Romney means you want to keep the Bush Tax Cuts because you believe it will create jobs, and a vote for Barack Obama means you want the rich to pay taxes at the same rate or greater than you do, because you think that the way to create jobs, is to give the Federal Govt. more money to invest in services and infrastructure that historically have proven to create jobs. Sort of like Roosevelt’s “New Deal” that helped bring us out of the Great Depression.

No New Taxes

So, If Reaganomics has never worked, why are the Republicans still trying to sell it? “No new taxes” is a great sound bite. Who likes to pay taxes? But this sound bite is rooted in a deeper conservative ideology. One that I believe places capitalism above the “common good” and the “general welfare” of the American people.
The Conservatives believe at their core that Markets should regulate themselves. There should be no barriers to exploiting resources (including labor). Once you understand this core ideology, you can see why Republicans want a smaller, leaner government. A smaller government is a weaker government, one that will not be an effective regulator of business. It will create a void for business and corporations to privatize government services like Medicare and Social Security which represent a huge bonanza of untapped capital for the rich. They have already done this this with the creation of the 401K which effectively places your retirement funds in the hands of speculators.

Corporations are people

The conservative U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that corporations have the same free speech rights as human beings, and can therefore spend as much money as they like in support of a candidate or measure. So, the Republican conservative takeover of our democracy has already begun. The conservatives want a republic that is ruled by capitalist corporations, where unions have been all but abolished, where the financial sector is free to make bets with your money. A Republican vote means that this is what you want, a society where profit for the few is more important than the welfare of the many.

The 99%

If you vote Democratic, it means you want the government to regulate the capitalist beast. You believe the United States is made up of people, real people of flesh and blood, and that corporations left unchecked, have little or no social conscience in the face of the bottom line. The fact is that 3% of the population controls more wealth than the rest of us combined. These are the folks the Republicans represent. Not us. These are the only folks that should be voting for them, not you. Please get out and vote. Please make the voice of the 99% (it’s really 97% but 99% sounds better) heard. Please join me in voting Democratic if you believe in justice, community and quality of life and not money, greed and exploitation.