GOP Gets tough on Special Interest Tax Credits

The US Senate voted Tuesday NOT to repeal a $6 billion tax credit for Ethanol. The bill’s chief sponsor Senator Coburn (R-OK) argued that despite their pledge to not raise taxes, the GOP must stop tolerating wasteful giveaways through the IRS Tax Code. Senator McCain (R-AZ) chimed in stating “Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion…It’s my opinion that it’s a disgraceful subsidy that is unwarranted and a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

For those of you who are keeping score 34 of the 47 Republicans in the Senate voted to repeal this tax credit, despite an ATR pledge by 40 of them to never increase taxes. (Lets be fair, ATR did advise them that so long as they cut another tax to make up for increasing taxes by repealing this credit, they would not be breaking the pledge.)  The credit in question was an earmark granting a $6 billion dollar available tax credit for gasoline producers who blend ethanol into their fuels. This blender’s credit amounts to 1 tenth of 1 percent of the requested Federal Budget for fiscal year 2012 and is in fact not a subsidy for ethanol producers, or corn farmers, but a fuel subsidy for the oil companies who blend and sell gasohol.

Am I the only person who thinks this kind of political pandering is disgusting? Senator Van Hollen (D-MD) is quoted as saying “A realistic conversation about deficit reduction must include both cuts and revenues, and Senator Coburn’s amendment to eliminate $6 billion in tax earmarks for ethanol is an important part of this discussion,” and feels Senator Coburn’s “willingness to cut special-interest tax breaks for the purpose of deficit reduction is encouraging.”

Now, I am all for cutting special-interest tax breaks, but let’s get real, one tenth of one percent is a small drop in the ocean of red ink that is 2012 deficit spending. How about cutting something real like the $121 billion mandatory spending in the USDA budget. (%3.2) Or what about cutting some of the $575 billion being spent by the DOD this year EXCLUDING War Funding for Afghanistan and Iraq. (%15.4) Maybe we could look at cutting the $53 billion dollars being requested for foreign aid this year. (%1.4)

But the Republicans are the only ones pandering. The Democrats continually call for the elimination of tax breaks for Big Oil but they voted to keep this bill on the table instead of bringing the actual tax cut up for a vote. I am sick of reading about “earmarks” and “tax credits,” “deficit spending” and “fiscal responsibility.” Let’s see some real action please!?!

Republicans/Democrats What’s the difference?

Mr. Babington, a reporter for the Associated Press recently gave Congressman King a back-handed compliment by saying that Congressman King says what others think but won’t say.  I’m going to say something that I’ve been thinking for a long time and I believe many of you have been too.  You may not want to hear it but I’m going to say it.  You may agree or disagree but it needs to be said.  There is a ruling class in America and it’s made up of both Republicrats and Democans.

In the rest of this blog, I’m going to use a lot of collective pronouns like us and them, we and they, even ours and yours!  You decide which side you’re on and whether you want that to change.

Through most of history and presently through most of the world the ruling class, or aristocracy, rules the majority of the people.  In 1776, We The People declared ourselves independent of England’s tyrannical aristocracy.  Since then, and at an increasing pace recently, the aristocracy has been re-emerging and re-asserting itself and we’ve been complacent and let it happen.

The Tea Party movement, comprised of actual Tea Party members, 9-12′ers, Campaign for Liberty members, The Minutemen, talk radio listeners and many other patriots has been portrayed as an anti-incumbency movement.  It’s not.  It’s an anti-aristocracy movement.  You took away our country while we and our parents slept or otherwise allowed it.  We’re now wide awake, we’re mad and we’re coming to take our country back!  From you!

I’ve been told by members of the aristocracy that all they need is a Republican majority in the US Congress or Iowa General Assembly and then they’ll advance our agenda.  Hooey!  If that were true, why didn’t they advance our agenda when they had majorities?

I said in a recent letter to the DM Register that smaller government to some Republicans seems to mean a tiny bit smaller than the Big-Government fantasies of the Democrats.  My idea of smaller government is one that fits entirely inside the US Constitution!    and an Iowa Government that stays within the bounds of the Iowa Constitution!

A while back supporters of Mr. Branstad asked talk show host Steve Deace what Mr. Branstad could do to unify Iowa’s Republican party.  Mr. Deace replied with 7 political stances and a personnel appointment that he believed would move the party toward unity.  I’d like to give my 2 cents worth on the topic.  Mr. Branstad, if you want to unify this party promise us and then deliver a constitution-sized Iowa government!

If the present ruling class adequately represents you, do nothing and they, along with their willing accomplices in the main-stream media, will continue to win.  If you want to get our country back, then educate other voters, demand that candidates adopt our values and issues, promote and vote only for primary candidates who demonstrate & espouse Constitutional principles and never, ever vote for “the lesser of 2 evils.”

Michael Priest Chariton, IA