I use to get a kick out of Sen. William Proxmire's Golden Fleece awards for creative wasting of taxpayer money. It looks as if Sen. Tom Coburn is trying to fill that niche with his "Wastebook 2011" report highlighting over $6.5 billion in examples of "some of the most egregious ways your tax dollars were wasted."
Examples of wasteful spending highlighted in “Wastebook 2011” include:
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Leo, as you likely realize more than some of these funds go to keep reelection staff employed between elections. You could likely find examples on a smaller scale locally, as in bank savings programs by elected officials in which party operatives are paid to do little of any social good while awaiting the next election cycle. I witnessed it firsthand during my time near high elected offices in Kansas.
What makes it even more egregious is, this is but the tip of the iceberg. I'd bet the waste is triple that figure.
Think about this, what is the number one meme on every front page and every national network tv news broadcast?
A bogus "tax cut" that isn't even a tax cut, and who is to blame for Americans not getting nothing more than a sleight of hand suspension of their social security contribution that will no measurable impact on antbody INSTEAD OF an actual $6.5 BILLION (with a B) in obvious and provable wasteful spending (which is only a fraction of it) that could be STOPPED RIGHT NOW.
When we hit the financial wall that is inevitable, do you think the media will admit they ignored all of it just to flatter their Messiah?
Tim, I'll grant you that the "tax cut" for working people isn't really a tax cut, if you'll grant that letting Dubya's tax cut expire, as it has always been intended to do, is not a "tax increase." Republicans can't have it both ways, and when they try to they're shooting themselves in the foot. If working people see their take-home pay cut 40 or 50 bucks next paycheck, they won't blame Obama. The Tea Partyers have pretty much sealed the 2012 election for Obama, and quite possibly for Congressional Democrats.
Littlejohn, I agree letting a temporary tax cut expire is not a tax increase.
"Littlejohn, I agree letting a temporary tax cut expire is not a tax increase."
Too bad Grover Norquist doesn't feel the same about the Bush temporary tax cuts.
It's all semantics (read: bullsh*t). Any time costs for anything go up from what they were, it's an increase. Conversely, whenever cost go down from what they were it's a decrease. There should be a flat tax, period.
Both sides have created this ridiculous tax code (equal fault) which in my opinion is the single biggest contributor to our economic problems AND all the ridiculous partisan horse-shiite. Tax breaks for anybody should be abolished, no more incentives, rebates, temporary cuts for ANYBODY rich OR poor, it's all bullsh*t and it skews everything completely out of whack by encouraging bribery, graft and picking winners and losers. Not to mention it's patently unfair.
In simple terms, whenever the government gives someone a "break" (rich or poor doesn't matter) somebody else gets screwed, simple as that.
We'd still have dishonest politicians of course but they'd be seriously marginalized in their ability to grant favors for votes if they didn't have tax favors to dole out.
Of course there shouldn't be a flat tax. It's regressive and hurts the people with the least the most. It sounds like a good idea, as long as you don't realize that money is linear and wealth is not.
The more money you have, the better an idea a flat tax looks like... the less, the worse.