Tom Toles for March 13, 2011

Just for the mild amusement of watching jmattadams run away yet again:

jmattadams, Ronald Reagan said, “Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTdaH3RIg6Y

C’mon, tear him apart.

Tell us how wrong Reagan was.

Well said Tigger.

Oh, and Baslim Democrats also do that as well. All politicians want programs and money that goes towards their state/district so that they can get re-elected. This has been happening for a long time now.

I once saw a cartoon where a character cut down a giant tree, and whittled it down to make a toothpick for personal use. That’s what the government does with tax dollars. The motives to serve and help citizens may be good, but so much of the tax dollar goes for government employees pay, benefits, pension, and wasted expenditures.

See, no matter how badly our social programs work, the Government bureaucracy never suffers. They still keep their jobs, hire more paper pushers, and enjoy job security. Even when they occasionally cut, they never cut the highly paid administrators or appointees, who are rewarded fro thier support for the currents administration whether he be Republican or Democrat.

Now people will defend the programs, saying there are abuses, but they can be fixed. When? Oh when? We cannot afford a slow and gradual remedy to the waste and abuse of tax dollars.Only a austere budget to force the government to trim the excess fat from its 200 plus agencies.

I say all government employees, (except for military personnel below colonel ) starting with the president on down get a 30% pay cut to motivate them to trim the budget. They will get their pay back up after they learn how to manage money better. How can they feel the average citizen’s pain, when they never suffer any discomfort for their bad spending habits and waste?

Taxes in the long run only enable the governments bad spending habits.

Why does the public go along with the “no new taxes deal?”

Because we know that the idiots in Washington (all of them) will just waste it.

I believe that Reagan was referring to the Solidarity Union in Poland, not the U.S. and as he said that, he was firing the air traffic controllers and breaking all agreements made with gov’t unions.

Beenthere: See, no matter how much Wall Street and the Big Banks fail, no matter how much they trash the economy for the middle class, they keep multiplying their share of the total wealth & income. And their lobbyists make sure the debate focuses on the rest of us.

Two questions

Didn’t Reagan raise taxes something like 11 times?

When in our history has the trickle-down theory actually worked?

And you know what the trouble is with guys like Tig and Wingy?

They mindlessly praise everything Reagan did and and robotically bash Obama for everything HE does…so they naturally assume us libs do exactly the opposite.

Not so. We judge the action…not the actor.

Or to put it more simply, we don’t see everything in black and white

Simon,,,, Reagan cut taxes for the wealthiest while increasing the unseen taxes. He also caused state taxes to increase by defunding state programs and really hurt the poorer states by taking from them and giving nothing while multiplying the National Debt. Indiana’s Governor this morning said Obama had tripled our national debt so far. Who is going to believe that? Yep, Republicans!

The golden calf rules, and is an accurate depiction of “TEA party” standard worship. And “beenthere”, despite claims, hasn’t been.

Let’s actually increase COLLECTED TAXES ON THE WEALTHY by that 30%, bringing them up to an actual pay rate of around 20%, and it would help stabilize the system a lot better.

I still believe that the tax incentives for moving factories overseas should be repealed.

Money spent in the public sector is money wasted?

So, let’s just fire all the teachers, cops, soldiers, sailors, airmen, sanitation workers, public health officials, safety inspectors, air traffic controllers, etc., etc.

If every single person who receives a government paycheck, federal, state, and local, called in sick tomorrow and for the next week, including all our military personnel, wouldn’t that make for a wonderful week?

Of course government could be more efficient and do a better job. Duh. Show me one business operation which could not more efficient or do a better job!

We no longer have to do our own share of the road work, we no longer have to join the posse and chase the bad guys, we no longer have to get called up and sent to war against our wishes, we no longer get fined if we fail to vote (that was true in Virginia before 1776).

We have handed over all our duties and responsibilities to professionals, and all we have to do, the only duties left to the citizen: we have to obey the law, serve on a jury if called, and pay our taxes. And even that is too much of a sacrifice for many. They not only want no responsibilities or duties they want everything provided free!

^ WELL STATED DOUGHFOOT.

I believe our younger generation would be better off if we still had the draft. It taught one to have responsibilities such as paying taxes and respecting the laws and their elders.

Reagan also raised the gas tax. He’d be keel hauled for that by his own party these days.

“Taxes pull money from the private sector and throw them in the garbage can of the public sector”

Someone forgot all about government contracting. There’re plenty of corporate giants who benefit greatly from taxpayers. And let’s not forget all of that tax money that went to the banks and their bonuses.

Reagan also said that where collective bargaining and unions are outlawed, freedom is lost.

^ I am not working now so I can’t say to strike or not. I do still belong to a union but without putting myself in jeopardy, I don’t have the right to tell another what to do.