Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

A sign of things to come? Posted: 22 Apr 2009 09:58 AM PDT The UK, like the US, is attempting to spend an unprecedented amount of money to recover from the Great Recession. This morning, the UK finance minister informed British citizens that taxes will be raised on a host of items in order to fund the government’s titanic deficit spending. Here’s a short list: The top income rate will be hiked to 50% next year Alcohol taxes will increase 2% Tobacco taxes will rise 2% Fuel taxes will begin rising in September As a result of the immense government spending, UK national debt, as a percentage of GDP, will be 59% this year, 68% next year, and 74% in 2011-12. When a nation accrues ungodly amounts of debt and runs earth shattering budget deficits, it can adopt three measures to make up the difference.   Correction, make that four.  The first three are standard government procedure.  First, it can raise taxes on everything that moves.  Second, it can borrow from foreign nations. Third, it can print money out of thin air. The first measure punishes hardworking taxpayers and destroys prosperity. The second measure adds more debt and makes one a slave to foreign influence. The third measure devalues the currency and erodes consumer purchasing power. Sound familiar? The Federal Government has already raised the cigarette tax and is proposing a number of new taxes in the next couple of years. At least ten states are planning on raising both income and sales taxes as well. China owns $1-$2 trillion of our national debt. And in the last eight years, the US Dollar has lost close to 30% of its value. Now, what about that fourth measure? There’s a great scene in the Dark Knight where a gathering of Gotham City crime lords discusses how best to restore their supremacy in a city beginning to clean up its act with Batman’s help.  At first, they’re considering some sort of covert operation.  The Joker enters the room and calls them out on their cowardice, then one of the criminals asks the Joker, “What do you propose?”  The Joker responds, “It’s simple, we kill the Batman”, at which point the group begins laughing at such a simplistic answer.  But, you get the feeling they all realize he’s right.  They just don’t have the guts to do the obvious. Our situation is much the same.  We don’t need creative government solutions, fiscal gymnastics, or PhD formulas.  The solution is actually quite simple.  Stop spending so much money! Read the articles here and here.

Read the bills before you vote Posted: 22 Apr 2009 07:51 AM PDT A number of well-informed readers have raised the valid concern that Congress is not reading legislative bills before casting a vote.  Here are just a few examples: The Patriot Act was over 300 pages long, yet not one single member of Congress even read it.  The bill wasn’t even available to Congress until 15 minutes before the actual vote. TARP, or the $700 billion bank bailout, grew to over 450 pages, after the initial Treasury draft was only about 3 pages. The $787 billion stimulus package reached 1,100 pages and Congress had less than a day to review it before voting. No matter what one’s opinion may be of these three particular bills, each bill was rushed through legislation under threat of some type of imminent collapse.  For the Patriot Act, it was to prevent a catastrophic terror attack after 9/11.  For TARP, it was to prevent a cataclysmic banking collapse.  For the stimulus package, it was to prevent the onset of the second Great Depression. Much can be justified in the name of drastically expanding the size, scope, and power of the Federal Government during “emergency” situations.  But, it is at these moments that mental clarity and attention to detail are most crucial.  As is often the case, federal legislation that is written in unreadable “legalese”, hundreds or thousands of pages long, and rushed through in highly emotional circumstances can carry with it a number of unintended consequences. Going forward, perhaps We the People could demand the following from our Congress: 1.  The Constitution is about 20 pages long.  It’s one of the shortest constitutions in the entire world.  Why on earth are we drafting bills 300 or 1100 pages long?  What if the maximum length of every future bill was no longer than the Constitution?  Then our Senators and Reps could actually read and carefully analyze each bill under consideration. 2.  Each bill should cite chapter and verse in the Constitution for its authority.  No more legal gymnastics and carefully crafted lingo that can be interpreted a million different ways. 3.  Let the American people read the bill before it comes to a vote.  With more intelligible and concise bills, the American people will be able to participate in the legislative process, learn more about the Constitution, and holds its political representatives accountable. What do you think?

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