Tea Bag candidates and conservative Republicans campaigned on the message that tax and spend liberals were responsible for the current state of the economy and they were going to “fix” it. They scared the elderly by saying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were not safe in the hands of Democrats. But they vowed to do what ever was necessary to roll back spending and make cuts where needed to bring our country’s debt under control.
The fact that the economy, as proven by many indicators, is actually and has been improving over the past year (have you checked out the stock market lately?), and, while employment in the private sector is increasing at the same time government jobs are being eliminated, mostly through attrition, thus reducing the size of government, these facts have gone relatively unnoticed and certainly ignored by both the American people and those whom they just elected.
It is the morning after, by just more than a week, and even before taking office, some newly elected and triumphant Tea Bag backed winners who successfully knocked out their incumbent opponents are already putting their cards on the table.
Here is a brief (incomplete) sample of some deficit cutting they would like to see:
Social Security: Increase Social Security retirement age; Lower cost-of-living increases, Raise the threshold on the amount of income subject to the Social Security payroll tax.
Taxes: Overhaul individual income taxes and corporate taxes; For individuals and families, eliminate a host of tax credits and deductions; Reduce income tax rates, with the top rate falling from 35 to 23 percent (from where will the government derive income?); Reduce the corporate income tax rate to 26 percent from 35 percent and stop taxing the overseas profits of U.S. Based multinational corporations.
Domestic Spending: Freeze Defense Department salaries and bonuses for three years, and non-combat military pay at 2011 levels for three years; Double Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ proposed cuts in defense contracting; Reduce overseas bases by one-third, cut spending for base support and integrate children in military families into local schools; Cut public broadcasting funds.
Healthcare: At a minimum, limit or eliminate the tax-free status of employer-provided health benefits; Limit annual cost increases for Medicare and Medicaid to no more than one percent above the growth rate of the economy; Cap malpractice jury awards.
Get ready for a rocky road ahead…we are going into Reverse…
