Posted by
Jefferson on Saturday, February 17, 2007 6:05:35 AM
I don't know about the rest of you, but when I see a leftist taking refuge behind the children, I instinctively place my right hand over my wallet. Imagine how fast I made said covering maneuver when I read this little gem by E. J. Dionne of the WaPo. Mr. Dionne is apparently very distressed that President Bush dared to cut the rate of increase in the SCHIP program. For those of you not familiar (as I wasn't until I read the article) the SCHIP is a program to provide insurance coverage to children of familiies too well off to qualify for Medicaid and too poor to afford private coverage. The proposed increase in spending is $4.2 billion over five years. This is less than a third of what the Democrate chairman of the Senate finance Committee estimates will be necessary over the same period.
I, like most other fiscal/economic conservatives don't lack compassion. In fact we share our resources willingly. Most of us just understand the verity that the poorest use of a dollar meant for benevolence is to turn it over to the Federal government. Anyhow, enough preaching and back to my point. Mr. Dionne either doesn't understand economics or doesn't respect those who read his column enough to be completely honest. Otherwise we couldn't get the following bit of ridicufied nonsense:
"if enacted, the president's budget would lead that year [2012] to $73 billion in tax cuts for households with annual incomes of over $1 million and $34 billion in cuts to domestic discretionary programs, many of them benefiting Americans of low and middle incomes.
So here is a president who believes passionately in redistributing income -- upward."
Notice the scope shift in Mr. Dionne's vacuous argument? Yes, $ 73 billion in tax cuts for households with greater than $1 million in income but cuts of $34 billion in domestic spending. The next sentence is where the "ridicufied nonsense" comes in: the $34 billion in cuts is not "income" as Mr. Dionne terms it. He apparently would have you believe that this $34 billion was being stolen from the working class to finance chemical peals and Pina coladas for the evil, idle rich. No, these are transfer payments folks. Money taken from the people who earned it and given to those who did not. The top 2% of income earners pay 42% of the income taxes to the Feds in this great land.
How much is enough Mr. Dionne? How much?