*Start Soapbox*
Vermont’s congressional delegation all voted against the tax compromise worked out by the President and members of congress. The extension of the Bush tax cuts that were a big part of turning a surplus into a deficit is a compromise that does not serve our country well and is born of political considerations rather than in the best interests of our country.
As these politicians add more to the growing pile of debt, they have handed the wealthiest Americans a huge tax break when they do not really need it, probably won’t spend it and many do not want it. To add insult to injury, they then handed them another tax break on top of that by lowering the inheritance tax, so these same wealthy people can avoid taxes as they take their accumulated wealth and hand it down.
Once this is completed, these same short-sighted politicians will run around in circles decrying the huge deficit and debt. They will start to argue about what spending should be cut. As the deficit commission pointed out, there are no easy solutions and every cut will have opposition.
In this season of peace and goodwill to man, it would seem that we might want to take a good look at the enormous cost of the wars we are waging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars seemingly without end and without a credit limit on our credit card. We maintain over 735 military bases outside of the USA at another enormous cost. Before we start cutting off benefits to the least fortunate in our society, perhaps we should be taking a hard look at all of our expenses including this huge cost of foreign military involvement.
I agree that we should be spending within our means and have a plan to get the country out of debt before the debt consumes such a large portion of our GNP that we are essentially bankrupt. We need to find sensible priorities and sensible tax policies that do not simply put more money into the hands of those that need it the least so they can accumulate greater and greater wealth.
Bill Gates of Microsoft fame and Warren Buffet have joined over 50 other billionaires to pledge to devote the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. The list is impressive, and includes Paul Allen of Microsoft, Michael Bloomberg, Steve Case, George Lucas, David Rockefeller and Ted Turner; the latest to join this very elite group is Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame. Many of these same very wealthy people have publicly declared that they do not want nor need the huge tax cuts that are about to come their way.
I do not agree with much of the agenda of the Tea Party, however, I have to agree that the current system is not making good decisions. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gave a speech which went viral against this legislation and Vermont Congressman Peter Welch is leading the fight in the House. These Vermont legislators see a different purpose to their service and put the country ahead of politics. This compromise, where the President folded his hand before he even looked at his cards, is bad for the country. We should reduce taxes for the hard working and shrinking middle class, have serious discussions about the sensible priorities for our country and work together to create jobs and build our economy.
*End Soapbox*
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