Common Ground
A homeowner in Waukesha for 20 years, Steve is president of the Waukesha Dog Parks Organization and enjoys motorcycling, fishing and staying on top of politics.
They Still Think Taxes Are The Solution
No society has taxed itself into prosperity. In Saturday's Journal editorial page, the Journal's editors choose an editorial cartoon that implied that if you believe this to be true, you have either no brains or a lack of them. You see, that statement is one made by Rush Limbaugh in one of his 35 undeniable truths. Some seem outrageous, to liberals, but when thought through, there is truth to each one.
So having had the Journal editors, in a broad way, say that I don't have a brain, please consider that with my blathering.
My point of this blog revolves around John Gurda's good article in Sunday's Crossroads section of the newspaper. John makes some excellent observations and has a good flow of information from the days of Mayor Dan Hoan to the present. To summarize the problem, Milwaukee hasn't enough money. To summarize the solution, taxes should be raised.
He does make a very good point that we CAN afford more taxes! He asks in part, "And where do we find the money to pay for our cell phones and cable TV service when we can't seem to located it for parks and libraries?" So very true. My soon to be middle aged children never knew life without them. The list of things that we take for granted, but are actually unnecessary drains on our income goes on. How did we live with cars without air conditioning and deluxe stereo systems, power seats and windows? How did we live without air conditioning in our homes and resulting monthly electric bill? How did we live without home entertainment centers? How did we ever live in 750 square foot houses on tiny urban lots? So Gurda's question about how can we say that we can't afford more taxes is valid and should cause some soul searching for us.
The reality of it though, is that ever increasing taxes costs jobs, increases reliance on the government and creates a larger society dependent on the government while diminishing those which pay the taxes to fund it. Liberals try to shame us into paying more taxes, but do any of them pay more than the minimum that they owe each year? I think not! Witness the number of Obama appointees that had tax problems. Good liberals would not argue with the IRS!
Milwaukee was once a thriving industrial center which enabled it to develop good schools, great parks, wonderful libraries and an outstanding museum rivaling those anywhere in the country. But government is also what has caused Milwaukee to deteriorate to that which it has become! Not necessarily local government, but ALL government.
Read closely because this is important. We are about to allow government to do in short order, what it has been slowly doing for many years. Cap and Trade will be devastating to our society as we know it now and it will never return to what it was. Cap and Trade is a "Treaty". The Constitution says that a Treaty takes priority over the Constitution and becomes the law of the land. The Cap And Trade will in effect establish a world government, at least regarding any industry emitting anything to do with carbon, that we will be obliged to submit to.
Milwaukee's industrial base, as has the country's, has diminished due to government regulating this and that. Some regulations are perhaps necessary but many other were extremely myopic and having led to the mess we are in now and are about to make much worse. Nonindustrial businesses have been taxes to their deaths. Those that cannot excape to friendly business climates wither away to the advantage of China and other Asian countries. As the jobs flee SE Wisconsin, so does the wealth that pays the taxes.
The answer to Mr. Gurda's point is not to increase taxes, but to find ways to lower them. Unfortunately the state and federal governments have taken us beyond the point of returning to the "good old days". But succumbing to the belief that we might as well raise taxes will only increase the hemorrhage of businesses and skills.
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