Tax & Spend vs. Slash & Burn

Hello, and welcome to my new home on Blog Spot! 8^) I'm looking forward to a little more commentary, with some help from Squawkbox. First up, I offer a little insight into our enemy -- not Republicans or conservatives as a group, as they are not our enemies, just our rivals. I refer here to that unsavory subset that would have made Orwell's jaw drop at their breathtaking chutzpah.

The common wisdom is that fighting the freepers and reactionary trolls is a useless waste of time. Like all modern "common wisdom," it could use another look.

While arguing with a typical member of the breed over at Eschaton, I got hit with the usual "tax and spend" garbage over the money spent on public schools. Frustrated and suddenly inspired, I shot back that we'll keep trying to get money in until the right-wingers stop trying to take it out. And that's when it hit me.

They harp constantly about "tax and spend" liberals and how that never does any good. (Ignoring the millions fed during the Great Depression just for starters, I guess.) How many times have the conservatives cut resources to the things liberals put them into?

You'd think, the way they complain, that liberals never did anything other than bankrupt Americans to pay for nothing but frivolities. Ultimately, "tax and spend" is Exhibit A in the pile of evidence of the way that Gingrich Republicans twist the language. Governments -- all governments, ever -- collect money through taxation to pay for (aka spend on) what they do. Armies, emergency response, diplomacy, intelligence, security, civil service (like legislators), education, infrastructure, and yes, welfare, all cost money. Even the most die-hard conservative recognizes that at least some money has to go into those first six categories. That means -- you guessed it -- taxing and spending.

Meanwhile, the current Republican leaders cut funds for projects they deem unnecessary -- even if they themselves have proposed it. From 9/11 disaster relief for New York to Homeland Security to "No Child Left Behind," these Republicans go through the motions of "compassion," then stab state and local governments in the back (and the wallet). They wage absurd wars on flimsy pretexts (wasn't that supposed to be a liberal interventionist trait?) and then demand outrageous sums of money to cover their incompetence. Oh, and they alienate nearly every other nation on the planet through innumerable acts of sheer arrogance.

Therefore, I would like to make a small suggestion. The next time someone complains to you about "tax and spend" liberals, reply that they're better than "slash and burn" conservatives! After all, how much conserving is there in destroying everything in your path, from the Constitution to every ounce of goodwill earned over a century of world-saving, in pursuit of their dubious goals?

(/) Roland X
In Dungeons and Dragons, trolls are vulnerable to flame. I guess that just goes to show that life doesn't always imitate art...