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Got To Get This Right (The Great Tom Friedman Off On A Loopy Bender Again Alert)
New York Times ^ | 11/28/2010 | Tom Friedman

Posted on 11/27/2010 11:46:08 PM PST by goldstategop

That is why I believe most Americans don’t want a plan for deficit reduction. The Tea Party’s vision is narrow and uninspired. Americans want a plan to make America great again, and at some level they know that such a plan will require a hybrid politics — one that blends elements of both party’s instincts. And they will follow a president — they would even pay more taxes and give up more services — if they think he really has a plan to make America great again, not just bring him victory in 2012 by 50.1 percent.

That hybrid politics will require hard choices: We need to raise gasoline and carbon taxes to discourage their use and drive the creation of a new clean energy industry, while we cut payroll and corporate taxes to encourage employment and domestic investment. We need to cut Medicare and Social Security entitlements at the same time as we make new investments in infrastructure, schools and government-financed research programs that will spawn the next Google and Intel. We need to finish our work in Iraq, which still has the potential to be a long-term game-changer in the Arab-Muslim world, but we need to get out of Afghanistan — even if it entails risks — because we can’t afford to spend $190 million a day to bring its corrupt warlords from the 15th to the 19th century.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 2010elections; liberalism; newyorktimes; tomfriedman
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To: nathanbedford

Great comments!


21 posted on 11/28/2010 6:46:47 AM PST by Attention Surplus Disorder ("Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking" - Barack Hussein Obama)
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To: goldstategop
The Tea Party’s vision is narrow and uninspired.

Naturally the "vision" of scaling back government intervention, and empowering several hundred million free citizens to make their own choices about ordering their lives and advancing their interests, is "uninspired" to someone who's self-anointed role is to make those decisions for us, and who, if that vain delusion were ever to collapse, is otherwise utterly useless.

22 posted on 11/28/2010 7:08:58 AM PST by Stultis (Democrats. Still devoted to the three S's: Slavery, Segregation and Socialism.)
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To: goldstategop
The Tea Party’s vision is narrow and uninspired.

Naturally the "vision" of scaling back government intervention, and empowering several hundred million free citizens to make their own choices about ordering their lives and advancing their interests, is "uninspired" to someone who's self-anointed role is to make those decisions for us, and who, if that vain delusion were ever to collapse, is otherwise utterly useless.

23 posted on 11/28/2010 7:12:21 AM PST by Stultis (Democrats. Still devoted to the three S's: Slavery, Segregation and Socialism.)
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To: goldstategop
From estimated receipts for fiscal year 2010 of $2.381 trillion:

1. Cut the budgets of the following Federal Departments/Agencies by 25%: Defense, VA, State, DHS, Justice, NASA, Treasury ($216.6Bn)

2. Eliminate the following Federal Departments/Agencies: DHHS, Transportation, HUD, Education, Energy, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Interior, EPA, SSA, National Science Foundation (WTF?), Corps of Engineers, National Infrastructure Bank (WTF?), Corporation for National Community Service (WTF?), Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, Other Agencies, Other ($501.3Bn)

3. Cut the following “Mandatory Spending” by 25%: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Other ($500.7Bn)

You now have a $834.4Bn surplus to pay down the debt and/or reduce taxes.

24 posted on 11/28/2010 8:33:46 AM PST by DTogo (High time to bring back the Sons of Liberty !!)
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To: goldstategop

I love the now-standard lib media trope about the crumbling of our national infrastructure and how we need to raise taxes to fix it. The answer is quite simple: the state and local taxes that used to go into fixing bridges, tunnels and sewers now goes to the bloated public employee wages and benefits.


25 posted on 11/28/2010 8:55:09 AM PST by sinanju
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To: sinanju
I love the now-standard lib media trope about the crumbling of our national infrastructure

Our infrastructure is good to excellent. We don't have to squander billions on it nor on bringing high speed internet to remote rural places like Obongo has proposed. This "crumbling infrastructure" line is BS and a sop to the construction unions to get their votes

26 posted on 11/28/2010 9:59:58 AM PST by dennisw (- - - -He who does not economize will have to agonize - - - - - Confucius)
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To: Stultis

The only agenda that “inspires” this pin head is centralized government control expansion. Why do these idiots never die after all their failure in the world. They are a plague of stupidity on the ass of humanity.


27 posted on 11/28/2010 10:19:48 AM PST by SaraJohnson
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To: Stultis

The only agenda that “inspires” this pin head is centralized government control expansion. Why do these idiots never die after all their failure in the world. They are a plague of stupidity on the ass of humanity.


28 posted on 11/28/2010 10:20:07 AM PST by SaraJohnson
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To: goldstategop

The first real step on the road to U.S. recovery will be the declaration of bankruptcy by a major U.S. state, and its rational resolution — including overriding unpayable pensions, reducing outrageous salaries, and canceling dysfunctional programs.


29 posted on 11/28/2010 11:58:14 AM PST by AZLiberty (Yes, Mr. Lennon, I do want a revolution.)
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To: dennisw
Here's my plan to revive America

<3
30 posted on 11/28/2010 1:23:15 PM PST by KarenMarie (NEVER believe anything coming out of DC until it's been denied.)
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To: 9YearLurker
Shows you how creative Little Tommy Friedman is. Even the obama hucksters came up with his ideas first.
31 posted on 11/28/2010 3:14:57 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: goldstategop
[Art.] That hybrid politics will require hard choices: We need to raise gasoline and carbon taxes to discourage their use and drive the creation of a new clean energy industry, while we cut payroll and corporate taxes to encourage employment and domestic investment.

Blah, blah, blah -- more socialism, social engineering, taxes on individuals, and corporate "access capitalism".

Tom's out of ideas.

Next!

32 posted on 11/28/2010 4:31:28 PM PST by lentulusgracchus
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