The Audacity of Hate

   A work colleague of mine likes to listen to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh's radio shows while he works. So as a liberal you could imagine that this peeves me. Most of the time I try to just ignore it, but one day instead of just trying to ignore it I thought to my self, why don't I listen and try to see their opinions?

   As I listen I don't actually hear any intelligent debate or policy discussions. I only hear attacks on Obama and the Democrats. Hate filled rants against half of our electorate. I remember on Glenn Beck's show one of the hosts insinuated that Obama was a cockroach. They called Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the chairwomen of the Democratic Party, clinically insane. They said that every single person that had voted for Obama were idiots and that Christianity in this nation was under attack while they made fun of Muslims and Hindus. Who by the way are also part of America.

   Now what I need to make clear is that not all Republicans are like this. There are tons who want to have an intelligent debate about where our country needs to go. As well there are some pretty looney Democrats out there too. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, I'm what you would call a Liberal, Libertarian, Independent. A mouthful I know.

   I really believe that the polarization of our country lately is a cause of our extreme right-wing media. Because unfortunately the people who listen to this stuff become desensitized to hate. They believe that they are the victims of a system that is built to specifically outcast them. That everybody who supports an efficient Government is a Socialist trying to destroy this country. Based on that thinking at least half of America is openly trying to destroy it self and turn it into a Marxist state. If that was the case then why are we the greatest country that god has blessed this earth with?

   They say things like "Obama is playing class warfare" by letting the tax cuts expire to pre-Bush levels. And at the same time trying to get rid of food stamps which is a vital program for our country's poorest. Which is actually class warfare? The one that lets the tax rate go back to pre-Bush levels, where if I remember I think we had the dot com boom. Or the one that stops feeding poor people in need. You be the judge.

   I was taught that you should never hate anything. Hate is an emotion that pushes away logic. An emotion that causes one to behave irrationally and outcast those in need. It's "We the people". Not me versus you.

Taxes vs. Deficit: Why lack of one will create a lot of the other

   My basic view is that we should have an efficient Government that provides transportation, waste management, schooling, health care, police, libraries etc. A Government that doesn't spend 6 times more on defense than the rest of the world. That doesn't have military bases in over 150 countries. A Government that taxes it's people fairly for the services it provides.

   My view is not a very popular view among most, nowadays people tend to want as low taxes as possible. However if you were to ask those same people if they want the services that Government provides they would say yes. I see a huge contradiction here, for if an individual wanted to purchase an expensive service but continued to lessen their revenue they would have a huge deficit, as we have. But the Republican Party still refuses to raise taxes to the rate that they were under Clinton. The last time we had a balanced budget, it worked then and it would work now. They say that they won't take $1 in raised taxes for every $10 in spending cuts. They say we should only cut spending. But not defense, that's off the table. 

   The Democratic party is as at fault as well, they let it get like this. It was under Bush that the deficit got outrageous, the tax cuts and the Iraqi and Afghani wars, not to mention the Medicare Part D drug plan. Some Democrats voted for these bills. If they would have obstructed as the Republicans have in the Senate in the past 4 years who knows our deficit might be much less. 

   All in all I believe that we have a country that just wants to spend and not pay for it. They would rather have a deficit than to pay higher taxes. We as a country have a spending addiction and taxes are the only way to keep us from going bankrupt. I don't want high taxes, but I would rather them than to have a country with a 15 trillion dollar debt. So the only way to maintain the services the Government provides and balance the budget is to raise taxes. Sorry Grover Norquist, do the math it's just not feasible.