Posted on 11/08/2002 5:55:01 PM PST by winner45
November 7, 2002
Now that GOP controls Congress, hold onto your wallet, Libertarians say
WASHINGTON, DC -- Now that Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency, Americans should brace themselves for an era of skyrocketing federal spending and ballooning budget deficits, Libertarians say.
“Our prediction is that with a GOP Congress egging him on, George Bush is going to make Bill Clinton look like a fiscal conservative,” said George Getz, Libertarian Party communications director.
“Even when Republicans controlled only one house of Congress, Bush managed to sign the first $2 trillion-plus federal budget, throw more money at Clinton-era programs and propel the deficit toward outer space. With complete congressional control, expect Bush to go on an absolute spending rampage.”
As GOP officials celebrate their resounding victory in Tuesday’s elections, in which Republicans expanded their House majority and reclaimed control of the Senate, the White House is reportedly planning to “roll out an ambitious legislative agenda.”
Unfortunately for taxpayers, Libertarians say, that agenda won’t include a reduction in government.
“Bush’s $2 trillion budget is already scheduled to expand by 6 percent this year,” Getz said. “Moreover, social welfare programs under Bush have grown by $96 billion in just two years, versus $51 billion under six years of Clinton, according to economist Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth.
“Bush’s budget also includes a number of Clinton-era programs, such as Americorps and the ‘Gore tax’ on telephone service – not to mention more money for socialized medicine, government-run schools and farm welfare.”
Now that Bush has more members of his own party in Congress, Americans should expect the spending binge to continue, Getz said.
“Since no newly elected Republicans have pledged to eliminate any Bush programs, it’s clear that two more years of George Bush equals two more years of bloated federal spending,” he said.
Another predictable result of a Republican-controlled Congress, Libertarians say: higher budget deficits.
According to figures from the Office of Management and Budget, Bush is now running a $106 billion deficit, Getz pointed out.
“Since every government program has to be paid for somehow, the president has simply chosen deficit spending over outright tax increases,” he said. “In either case, taxpayers get stuck with the bill.”
That’s why the only thing that happened on Tuesday is that a few tax-and-spend Democrats were replaced by borrow-and-spend Republicans.
“Now that Republicans have won control over the federal government,” Getz said, “it’s time for Americans to start scrambling to regain control over their own wallets.”
...Eliminate just a few programs...
No program eliminations are being proposed.
As for the going along for the ride thing, your proably right.
There is a method to the madness, here, after all - the way you kill a fire is by starving it of fuel. Cut taxes, and spending cuts will follow along soon enough...
The Libertarian Party is puting a disclaimer on their Presidential Candidate.
It appears even HE has faults the Libertarians can't tolerate.
I wonder who will be their perfect man
From the link below.
"While Harry Browne supports the Libertarian Party and the American Liberty Foundation, his views are his own and do not represent the official policies of either organization. There are Libertarians who disagree with Harry Browne's position on the "War on Terrorism" and on other topics."
Moral-cowardice says: "If I be nice to evil, maybe evil will be nice to me."
The French learned the hard way that Chamberlainesque appeasement and toleration of evil doesn't work.
There is a method to the madness, here, after all - the way you kill a fire is by starving it of fuel. Cut taxes, and spending cuts will follow along soon enough...
I agree, and if we get more tax cuts Ill be right there to applaud. I'd prefer spending cuts right along with them.
True, but the outside world sometimes conspires to require more spending of us than we'd otherwise prefer - we haven't had a pressing need to ramp up defense spending over the last ten years like we have lately, for example.
I agree, and if we get more tax cuts Ill be right there to applaud. I'd prefer spending cuts right along with them.
As would all of us, I am sure. But politics is the art of the possible, as has been noted, and it's much easier to sell tax cuts than it is to sell spending cuts, for obvious reasons. But when you cut taxes, eventually you're faced with the prospect of raising taxes, or cutting spending - and cutting spending is easier to sell than raising taxes ;)
Wave their magic wand?"
Thanks for posting this response. It is a perfect example of what sensible libertarians are up against: So many people, Dems and Repubs alike, are so programmed that they are no longer capable of rational thinking. Thanks for making it so abundantly clear to everyone!
...sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll...
SDR&R is not what the LP is about. Here's link to the LP platform.
http://www.lp.org/issues/platform/platform_print.html
sinkspur, you seem to be hung up on ending the war on drugs and legalized prostitution.
Here's a link to the Cato studies on the drug war.
http://www.cato.org/current/drug-war/index.html
As for Legalized prostitution or sex between consenting adults see
http://www.princeton.edu/~progrev/99-00/n1_bl.html
If it was all defense spending, I wouldn't say a word, but like the DoE got like an 11% increase in spending this year.
As would all of us, I am sure. But politics is the art of the possible, as has been noted, and it's much easier to sell tax cuts than it is to sell spending cuts, for obvious reasons. But when you cut taxes, eventually you're faced with the prospect of raising taxes, or cutting spending - and cutting spending is easier to sell than raising taxes ;)
With all 3 branches, and if the GOP picks up seats in 2004 like I think they will, I will expect spending cuts (or MASSIVE tax cut) or I'll never vote GOP again at the federal level until they do so. So basically they have my vote till 2006, by then they must earn it. I'll vote LP or CP after that if they don't. I hope to be voting GOP in 2006.
No program eliminations are being proposed.
As far as you know...
I can think perfectly.
John Thune would be a Senator today if not for Libertarians.
Libertarians help Democrats.
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