Reader Jan Paul Burr expresses the frustration of conservatives who feel cheated and abandoned by too many Republican politicians. He proposes increasing the nation’s resources, and Federal revenues, by adopting Ireland’s business-friendly tax reductions and eliminations of red tape that enable business to grow faster than government spending.
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RESTORING AMERICA: NO EASY TASK
By Jan Paul Burr
Many Conservatives are fed up with socialism and the Federal Government’s embrace of it: the trade agreements that are in reality treaties that surrender sovereignty; Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, and other social programs that grow faster than we can fund them; the war on prayer, God, religious symbols; restrictions on ‘intolerant’ speech; the homosexual agenda, and secular humanism; an open border so we can redistribute wealth, to not only our poor, but the world’s poor.
I suppose we could tack on a few more things, but you get the idea.
Conservatives want to go back to a time when the principles upon which this nation was founded reigned supreme. They want to see the Federal Government shrunken to its former role as servant to the states.
All well and good you might say. However, it isn’t a simple task to roll back history, unwind the clock, take back what has been given. Taking back, in this case, what has been given will be like taking heroin away from an addict.
As a nation that has shouldered the harness of socialism, we will have to make sacrifices and take careful steps to keep from harming the very people we seek to free from that harness. How can we do that? How can we take the heroin from the addict? Some say we can’t without suffering extreme withdrawal pain or even death of our society.
As in dealing with any addicted patient, we must use care, but time is of the essence. To not act means death but, if we act too fast, that too could mean death.
There are two steps that have to happen. One is the continued appointment of Federal Court Judges and Supreme Court Justices. The second is tax reform. Even as we do the first, the second must be carried out as well. Funding the social programs we have become so addicted to like Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements has to be continued. Capitalism funds it much better than socialism, so that part of the transformation can be less painful if done properly.
Paradoxically, bigger tax cuts than those already enacted will provide increased funding for the Federal government, because it will enable businesses to grow faster and individuals to earn bigger paychecks.
For those who say it can’t be done without reforming those programs totally, I say, look to Ireland. From 120% national debt to GDP to under 30%. From average manufacturing wages of less than ½ our average manufacturing wage to $1.30 more than ours. The plan they used must become ours. We may have to tweak it and adapt some things, but the plan is so simple to put in place that it must be considered.
Rather than bore you with the details, let me simply say it is a step by step reduction of the things that hold business back from being competitive in a world market. One look at the export growth of Ireland’s exports demonstrates how effective that plan is at making businesses competitive. While we are starting from an under 5% unemployment rate, they started from 15% and dropped their rate to 4.3%, while becoming the 2nd wealthiest per capita nation in Europe.
However, neither of these steps is possible if Congress and the President aren’t willing to support and enact them. Yet, we have learned a valuable lesson in our battle over immigration. If we get the people aware of what will happen if we don’t turn away from socialism as our economic policy and we demonstrate what will work and how it helps working men and women, we can exert a powerful force on Congress and the President.
Why do I say this drastic move must be made? If there is any doubt, look to France. Look to old Europe in general. Do we want to become like those nations, or like Ireland, where we are in control of our economy instead of our economy being in control of us?
Right now, for the 2007 Budget, we see this:
Department of Defense--Military $491 Billion 58.7% Growth since 2001
Department of Health and Human Services $697 Billion 60% Growth since 2001
Department of the Treasury $495,Billion 27.8 % Growth since 2001
Social Security Administration $625 Billion 32.3 % Growth since 2001
(information from Freedom Works http://www.freedomworks.org/budget/ )
Add those up and you see that they total $2.3 trillion leaving $500 billion to run the rest of the government. This doesn’t even include the $57 billion in the Department of Agriculture for Food Stamps and other such programs.
Trying to cut those programs suddenly is impossible. Trying to run the rest of the government on less than $500 billion while possible, doesn’t solve the problem either, since as you can see, entitlement spending grows too fast.
Thus, the solution has to be better funding of the programs. It is there that the steps Ireland took come into play with their tax reform. It is a simple plan but one that will be a tough sell here. They didn’t cut taxes on the working men and women, instead they grew business and wages so the tax became a lighter burden on individual taxpayers.
However, whether you like what Ireland did, or some of the other rapidly growing nations, the information is out there. Every policy we use or propose is out there. Countries around the world are providing the examples of what we need to do.
However, we must proceed with caution, but never stop marching toward the goal of freedom from the slow death socialism is inflicting on other once-great nations. We can do it, but we have to have the help of the voters who are currently waging the battle against illegal immigration and out-of-control government spending.
America must be made great again and once again become a nation that obeys the will of the people and the principles our Founders based this nation upon.
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