The Republicans' Fundamentalist Approach to Spending and Jobs

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I am getting so tired of explaining how ruthless and immoral The corporation controlled Republican Party is that I think I will just stop. If people can not see and understand this after the eight years under Dick Chaney and George W. Bush and then the Wall Street fiasco.
There may be no hope for the American Citizen voter who is I think mentally defective. Is it possible that a whole nation was dropped on their heads by their parents. May God watch over drunks and American Citizens........

Anthony Spallato of WI 2:55PM March 02, 2011

Rev Trask of ME, you should probably look up what a teabagger is. They tend to lay their "bags" on the foreheads of baggees. Then again maybe you are a hypocrit!

Jeff of WI 1:55PM February 27, 2011

I see your comment, `baggers in their funny attire didn't get Dick Cheney's memo about Reagan and deficits."
I was wondering if you are choosing to be one of the "baggees" who support irresponsible fiscal stewardship? That "position" doesn't sound very biblical to me.

Jeff of WI 1:50PM February 27, 2011

"Dick Cheney famously said that Ronald Reagan proved deficits don’t matter, and this is clearly a lesson the GOP has absorbed."
But the `baggers in their funny attire didn't get Dick Cheney's memo about Reagan and deficits. Neither did some of the possible 2012 GOP candidates.

Rev Trask of ME 6:27PM February 26, 2011

The financial system bailouts were a necessity because without a financial system, the economy would have collapsed. The auto industry bailouts were not (they were really UAW bailouts). The auto companies could have gone through bankruptcy, which in the end they did anyhow, albeit not in the way they should have (which would have cut a lot of the union fat).
As for the government now, the danger of the deficit and debt exceeds any economic harm that could be caused by having some more unemployed government employees.
However, the Republicans do have a dogma of tax cuts, which is bad. If taxes are excessive, then tax cuts can stimulate economic growth. But taxes, on the national level at least, are not excessive. Cutting them will only reduce revenues further.

Kyle of NY 12:35AM February 26, 2011

The argument being made by the right-wing is particularly ironic in their second round of union busting. On the one hand, they state that "We cannot afford to continue paying public workers 'luxurious' salaries and benefits," while at the same time they advocate for and insist on significant tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires in the interest of "trickle down economics."
Isn't it obvious that reducing government revenue by giving such tax breaks allows them to then argue that we "can no longer afford luxuries" like school teachers, transportation workers, etc. The point they are making without even realizing it is that there was a time when we could "afford such luxuries." Unfortunately, our 30-year national experiment with trickle down economics has proven to be a disaster for the average American worker, who's compensation used to be 25%-30% greater then the average public employee's and who now look jealously at what public workers earn.
It is the conservative policies pushed by the Republican party starting with Ronald Reagan that has caused the collapse of the Great American Middle Class, not the public unions. This was not by accident, rather it was by design. The core value at the heart of conservative politics was the destruction of the unions, ergo the middle class, to the benefit of the wealthy and they have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. In 1981 when Reagan took office, over 37% of private sector jobs were unionized, today it is less then 7%. And look at the result, the only group in this country to benefit from these policies are, in fact, the very wealthy. From a certain point of view, you could say "Mission Accomplished!"
Having essentially destroyed the private sector unions, the Republican elites have now focused their sights on the public sector unions, tacitly in the name of "Saving money." This is a lie! They could increase revenues immediately by eliminating the Bush-era tax cuts. They wont. Their sole interest in attempting to destroy these unions is political. They believe that if they can destroy this last bastion of Democratic support, they can control the levers of power indefinitely. Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to decide if this is what we want, a government for the wealthy, by the wealthy, of the wealthy.

njjediz of NJ 1:46PM February 24, 2011

Debt can be handled so long as there exists the ability to repay it. We no longer have this ability.
Corporate greed, undeserved bonuses, huge salaries, legacy costs, outsourced jobs, government regulation, unions, Environmentalist dogma, pork barrel politics, open borders and trial lawyers have destroyed our nation's business and industry. Instead of moving forward we have chosen to try and conserve and ration ourselves into the future - clutching to the fantasy of “green jobs”. We have become a debtor nation - hamstrung - unable to produce, compete or pay or debts.
But most importantly, we have lost the personal and political will to change. Greed, sloth, Enviro-Socialism, political correctness and educational indoctrination have destroyed the basic system of American values. Judeo-Christian truths and morality have been replaced by progressive, humanist, relativist subjectivity. The veneration of “Nature” - in exchange for God.
Energy prices are headed up - and with it the cost of food and manufactured goods.
I do not believe there is anyway to return to our former greatness - we simply lack the necessary strength of character, common sense and determination to overcome massive regulatory hurdles and Environmentalist theology.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 1:28PM February 22, 2011

They're not talking points , it's common sense and logic , keep demnding more , controlling more and regulating more and people hold back . Are you trying to save and spend less these days even if you're lucky enough to have any extra money you probably still save more and spend less because the future is uncertain , same as in any business .
And yes , do away with ALL taxes and the IRS , it's called the Fair Tax . The Dow is just not the U.S. economy , it's covers the world economy . History shows that tax cuts = more revenue into goverment , they can't quit spending .
Don't insult Bruce B of Nv. , he's a good progressive liberal .

Hunter of WI 11:57AM February 22, 2011

bruce b of Nv. said: "an attempt to roll back a growing goverment , an attempt to give busnesses some confidence that's it's ok to spend , invest and then hire."
A textbook Republican Talking Points.
The Dow has doubled since the pit of the recession and the bulls are still running on Wall Street. But real unemployment remains at 10 percent. How much "confidence" in the form of government tax giveaways and deregulation does the business sector need? Maybe we should get rid of business taxes altogether?

Myron of MT 9:30AM February 22, 2011

Since the election, I don't know any Republican at the national level or in any state government that has promoted a measure that will create one job. In fact, the cuts they're pushing are more likely to cost jobs. But as GOP House Speaker John Boehner put it: "So be it."
It was all talk in November.

Myron of MT 9:27AM February 22, 2011