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Monday, April 13, 2009Tea Time for the Feds
By Margaret Dayton
Senator, District 15 I had to laugh when Tommy Burr told me the Federal government felt "threatened" by the tea I sent them. I'm pretty sure the increasing tax burdens from the federal government are far more threatening to me than is my harmless green-tea bag to them! Honestly, I am much more concerned for the tax payers than the tax spenders. I have always felt that money in the hands of the taxpayers was better spent than money in the hands of the government. The Federal Government seems to have an insatiable appetite for spending U.S. citizens’ money. My three concerns: Heavy tax burdens are unsustainable.It is encouraging to see grassroots efforts around the nation generating support for Tea Parties on April 15. Hopefully, the message will be heard in Washington. I hope you will join the party here in Utah. A few more links:
posted by The Senate Site at 12:32 PM | Link
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10 Comments:
Where were you over the last eight years? . . . or during the Reagan years? Where was your praise for the Clinton administration that actually had four years of surplus?
This event is the height of partisan stupidity.
We need to remember that the original Boston Tea Party was a revolt against taxation WITHOUT representation - not against taxation, per se. How was the revolution funded? How was the debt paid? How was the very framework of our government subsidized? By taxes , of course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party
I wouldn't say anyone is really in favor of massive unnecessary spending - which is why it was unfortunate the Republican-controlled Congress and Executive Branch of the last eight years irresponsibly turned a $236 billion dollar surplus into a $1.2 trillion dollar deficit. It is unfortunate they committed citizens to a war of choice, which costs taxpayers a whopping $10 billion dollars a month. (This, by the way, was specifically excluded from the Bush budgets and treated as a separate funding request to Congress.) It is unfortunate President George W. Bush spent more money on discretionary spending than any other President – including President Johnson. http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb-0510-26.pdf
So let's be clear with what you are really upset about. You aren’t upset at the spending, but the fact now the top 5% of taxpayers will be charged 3% more on the income exceeding $250K. I don’t blame you, of course, for not passing up on a chance for politicking.
I find it interesting that nearly all of those protesting on Wednesday will have actually benefitted from a tax cut or an increase to the EITC, among other credits and deductions. This isn’t to mention those who have benefitted from the stimulus program, facilitating the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates, saving thousands of homeowners who have refinanced their mortgages to historically low rates. And we won’t even start on the jobs the stimulus is projected to create. Facts matter, Mrs. Dayton – not pathetic protests which grossly misconstrue what the original tea party represented.
It is also unfortunate - and the greatest of ironies - that a common mantra of those who support the war in Iraq is that "freedom isn't free," because when it comes time to propose paying down these deficits, stimulating our economy, and actually paying for the debt we've incurred, all they want to do is talk about a pathetic tea party. Actually having to pay for services rendered is unconscionable!
You speak of your ancestor, who signed the very document by which President Obama was elected - democratically and legally; the same document which provides for proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate; and the same document that set up an electoral system under which the policies of supply-side, tax-cuts-pay-for-themselves Republicans were rejected by an overwhelming majority of citizens. By participating in a "tea party revolt" you are suggesting you wish to repudiate the democratically-elected President and Congress (five of whom proportionally represent the State of Utah). I see how you honor our forbears, by insulting the very document they were inspired to draft and ratify. Again, facts matter, Mrs. Dayton – not politics.
Here are the facts:
The budget proposed to Congress actually provides a path to reducing the deficit in half in four years. This is done by increasing the top tax bracket from 36% to 39%. Oh, the tyranny! See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/fy2010_new_era/Inheriting_a_Legacy1.pdf
The budget proposed to Congress is $3.6 billion, as compared to the $3.1 billion requested by the Bush Administration last year - an amount which did not include the $10 billion/month expense for Iraq. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget
; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War) As was said before, President George W. Bush spent more in discretionary spending than any other President in history!
So, yes, tax burdens are unsustainable, which is why two things must happen: spending must be reduced and taxes will have to be raised. And this would have needed to happen, regardless of who was the President of the United States. Consider what Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the Republican-appointed director of the CBO (2003 – 2005) and top economic adviser to Senator McCain’s presidential campaign said: "If you do nothing on the spending side, you're going to raise taxes whether you're a Republican, a Democrat, or a Martian…." http://www.mattmilleronline.com/1_09_mccain_taxes.php
Contrary to what Reagan preached: Deficits do matter.
It’s true: freedom isn't free, Mrs. Dayton, and sooner or later you have to pay for what you've gotten. Your participation in these rallies is a sign of ignorance and irresponsibility on your part. It is your failure to understand the big picture or, perhaps, your willful neglect of truth for the sake of political benefit.
May I make a suggestion? Rather than wasting our time with such ridiculous protests, why don't we dedicate April 15th as a day of service? Go to retirement centers, VA hospitals, homeless shelters, etc. Let's actually work together in doing those things that make a difference in the lives of those hardest hit by these economic troubles. Save your tea, help a neighbor or read to a child. Give! Let's be honest: When the crowds recede; when they go home empty-handed, if not more angry and confused, what will you have gained, other than cheap political points and maybe a few headlines?
What does this have to do with governing - the act for which you were elected?
See Also:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/117433/Views-Income-Taxes-Among-Positive-1956.aspx?CSTS=alert
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/opinion/13krugman.html?_r=1
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx
Grassroots?
Your definition must be different than mine.
Good comedy though, so don't take my little correction as a complaint. Please carry on.
Not surprising Dayton is on board. How gullible does a person have to be to see the International Baccalaureate program as a threat to national security?
These little tea parties are offensive to real patriots, in that they cheapen what the original Boston Tea Party represents by comparing it to a petty temper tantrum more about Republicans losing elections than taxation without representation.
What about the tax burdens coming from the legislative body that you are a part of. Or the fact that even those tax revenues aren't enough to keep the state afloat, so you were left with no choice but to accept money that came from the very spending/taxation that you are now encouraging people to protest.
Oh the irony.
"We'll show those guys for helping us fill in that budget we weren't able to successfully backfill for us!"
Grow up, Margaret.
I tried to comment when I first read this, but I wasn't coming up with anything nearly as well thought out as Marshall, or straight to the point as Jason. And now there are more great comments here.
Since I've had a chance to think on it a little bit, I do have one thought to add. Sen. Dayton's support of "teabagging" tells me that she's not capable of seeing the big picture, and she's so stuck in GOPLand that she's become a sheep. Kind of reminds me of Jason Chaffetz...
Oh, and like Don, I'm offended by all these people supporting this charade and comparing it to the Boston Tea Party. We have representation. It just doesn't happen to be GOP style anymore, because the majority of the nation recognized the the Republicans were running us into the ground, and elected Democrats to clean up the mess.
Wow - you guys are good. Paul Krugman's column in the NY Times is worth reading (there is the link at the end of this post). Krugman: "One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the “tea parties” that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday. These parties — antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution — have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/opinion/13krugman.html?scp=3&sq=krugman&st=cse
Nothing more than a temper tantrum over lost elections. Rather than spend some time thinking of why they have lost elections, they're just upping the unhinged rhetoric. Polling shows it's not working. This is just embarrassing, Rep. Dayton. I voted for you proudly, but I have never been more ashamed to say I did than I am now after reading this. The commentor above who typed "grow up" is unfortunately right to say it. Why are we handing the left such easy targets and making fools of ourselves for the youtube crowds?
two links my representative might want to consider:
What the Boston Tea Party was really about, since you seem to have no clue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_tea_party
And what these protests are about as far as relevance and message sent:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tea+bag
I know many conservatives think it's smart to call Obama a socialist and oppose all taxes, but that's not what conservativism is or ever has been about. It's been about responsible taxation and limited government. Falling for this one as so many have shows only that Fox News and the current Republican Party have betrayed true conservative ideals, and that there are so many out there like Sen. Dayton not capable of thinking past beyond the superficial that we still have a long way to go before we have something meaningful to offer.
These tea parties only put us farther from the White House and a conservative majority, not closer. And that should be our goal, not getting on TV looking like uneducated bumpkins.
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