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.”
It's hard for me to judge the appropriateness of such a thing in the absence of more information, like what they're doing with the money - DoE does do a few things related to national security, for example ;)
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.
I don't know that anyone could reasonably expect more of you - that seems to me to be an eminently sensible position. I think it's wise to give them a chance to create change before just writing them off, and if they don't, I can't see how anyone could fault you for taking your support elsewhere.
That's with the caveat that your expectations should be somewhat grounded in reality, of course - no sense in holding up a standard that's plainly impossible. I hope you're voting GOP in 2006, also - not because I think your support is particularly important to them (neither is mine, of course), but because that'll mean they got it right ;)
There has been a vast shift in federal spending priorities since the late 1960s when defense spending and non-defense spending, other than interest, were of about the same magnitude. Today, non-defense spending is four and one-half times larger than federal spending on defense. Both defense and nondefense spending are up sharply in the last couple of years.
http://www.cato.org/fiscal/2002/factsfigs.html
You propose to accomplish this by electing...Democrats?
As you continue spewing your moral-high ground/statist ideology while hurling insults at anything remotely (LP). Take your jihad somewhere else.
Perhaps I missed something here, the Department of Education does things related to national security?
I hope you're voting GOP in 2006, also - not because I think your support is particularly important to them (neither is mine, of course), but because that'll mean they got it right ;)
Amen
This is incorrect. John Thune would be a Senator today if 60,000+ registered Republicans that did not vote for Thune had, or if the 23,000 people who voted GOP for Governor had voted for Thune as well, or the 13,000 people who voted for GOP House seat but not Thune. To blame the Thune loss on the LP, whose membership in SD is just barely over 1,000 and the candidate publically endorsed THune, is well a bit looney.
The right vs left paradigm is woefully inadaquate to describe ranges of political thought.
Check this out dude/dudette
http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html
The real deal is that the demos and pubbies are equealy socialististic. They only differ in policy preferences. Dems dig direct payments ala entitlement programs. Pubs like indirect payments through tax cuts and business subsidies. The later reaps large campaign contributions while the former buys votes somewhat more effectivly.
Philisophical Libertarians want the USG to stop engauging in both activities while allowing people to be individually sovergin, self-responsible, and self governing.
Stop calling people idiots, idiot.
I know plenty about Libertarianism.
I encounter Libertarians every day, right here on this forum. I know all I need to know by the the things they say.
Why don't you contribute a thought or two, instead of just ranting like a lunatic?
Ah, we just passed right by each other there - you said "DoE", and I heard "Department of Energy" ;)
Sure. Entitlements and transfer payments will continue to increase unless there is serious reform. I think the current CBO projections have federal outlays eating up nearly 40% of GDP by 2050, based on programs like Medicare and Social Security keeping their current benefits structure. That's pretty clearly untenable, no matter how you slice it, so reforms are coming sooner or later - the only question is how long we're willing to wait, and how high our pain threshold goes.
So, you're quite right in pointing that out, but I would respond that this is a problem that we will either solve, or it will solve itself by breaking the nation's back, so don't stress about it too much ;)
Since the potheads hijacked that party they are good only for comic relief.
Are we ready for comedy yet? Or should we celebrate a little longer?
"There the people go! I am their leader, and must hasten after them!"
A reasonable assessment.
In MA, a Libertarian-advanced ballot initiative to end the income tax was bitterly opposed by both major parties ... but nevertheless got about 45% support, only a little under half the entire voting population. It would appear that there is some untapped political opinion out there, no? Where will this go if things stay as they are, or get worse as the article suggests will happen?
You bet there is. That's why the Libertarians flock to Free Republic. There is a lot of sympathy here and elsewhere for the general philosophy, it's just the specific proposals, or some of them anyway, that sound kinda loony, or, at the very least, unrealistic, know what I mean?
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