Another brilliant, adult plan by the Republicans...

[kentuck]

Thirty years ago, when Reagan ruled the Earth, they said they could cut taxes and increase revenues to the Treasury. What happened? Record deficits! They were so scary that even Reagan agreed to raise taxes to get it under control.

In the interval, Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was elected in 1992. He took the top tax rate back up to 39% and, along with a technological revolution, was able to balance the budget and actually pay down a small part of the national debt. The unemployment rate was only 4.1% when he left office.

Enter George "Dumbass Dubya" Bush and another brilliant Republican plan. He and his Party did not like the surplus that Clinton left them. In fact, they hated it. The very idea that government could actually work twisted them into knots. They said that money belonged to the "people" - not the government. By "people", they meant the wealthiest in our country.

They passed the largest tax cuts in history and when he left office, the deficit was over $1.2 trillion dollars and the debt over $11 trillion dollars. Considering that the debt in total was less than $1 trillion dollars when Reagan took office, this was extraordinary in its scope. Another brilliant idea by the Republicans that took our country to the edge of collapse.

Now, they have another plan. They are going to cut the top rate from 35% to 25% and balance the budget in ten years. Ten year plans are always so predictable. Their idea is to destroy Medicare with private vouchers. Good luck to all the old folks.

But, if we deal with facts and reality, ideas that are alien to the Tea Party, we can see what the Republican plan is truly about. Yes, they want to destroy government but they also want to win the next election. They know they cannot get what they want in this showdown about "shutting down the government" so they offer this grandiose plan by Congressman Paul Ryan to appease and keep the Tea Baggers in their flock. It's a pepperment stick for them to suck on while they screw the rest of us.

[SoCalDem]

1. Anyone who has every managed a household knows

that when you are making less than you need, you need a secoond job or a raise.. you need MORE money...not less..

Has anyone ever told their boss, "I think I should get a pay cut, so I could be richer"

Our government's income is what it collects in taxes and tariffs (not much in the tariff dept these days,, since the Nafta/Cafta/Shafta stuff)..

It;s basic math to realize that all those millions of unemployed people are NOT paying much in taxes these days, and the fatcats are hoarding their loot too.,,

We need more money:)..not less taxes.

[kentuck]

2. "We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.."

They say.

However, if you want government, you have to pay for it with taxes. So the bottom line should be, what do you want government to do? Do you want military bases in 138 countries or do you want Medicare? You can't have both. Do you want employers to continue paying 7 1/2% in Social Security taxes or do you want to give it to them in a tax break?

Obviously we are spending too much if nobody wants to pay more in taxes. So the debate is really about what should we cut? Democrats should not be afraid to take a stand in this debate.