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June 04, 2003
God's Gift to Earth
Grover Norquist likes to say that God put Republicans on Earth to lower taxes. In the South, something a little different is happening, owing to the historical ties to the Democratic party. Alabama's governor is trying to raise taxes while undergoing structural reforms.
The idea that a family of four starts paying income taxes after $4K of income should make even the WSJ's editorial page blush. Tax cuts all around sound great as long as no party is pointing out the tangible government programs that will be cut in response to lower revenues. I think the Republicans are taking a big risk with their current strategy. Citizens aren't stupid and if Social Security and Medicaid are cut in the future, an enraged army of seniors won't have any problem voting for tax increasers.
Regardless of what happens on the federal level, Alabama's governor is taking a huge risk. He's put his political career on the line via the same referendum process (the state legislature gets off easy this way) that cut short his predecessor's. I'll say one thing about Georgia: at least our legislature occasionally votes on important issues themselves instead of just passing along the buck.
Posted by Chris at June 4, 2003 07:05 AM
Comments
You mean "an enraged army of baby-boomers" right? You and I will pay for it, but we will never see a dime because the current system of entitlements is unsustainable at any realistic level of taxation. Pay-as-you-go doesn't work, particularly when there is a pig-in-the-python demographic (the Boomers) and it the plan is administered by borrow/spending-happy government.
Posted by: Ron C at June 4, 2003 03:12 PM
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