Saturday, August 14, 2010

What the anti-taxation sentiment gets you

Too numerous Americans fail to recognize the essential role that taxation plays in creating earnings for necessary services. That’s what Paul Krugman writes within the New York Times, and it might be that such concerns are falling on largely deaf ears in America. Cities shut off streetlights that would help curb crime, roads local governments had already spent a good deal of cash on but can no longer manage to maintain are purposely broken down into gravel and schools are laying off teachers at every turn. Cutbacks are the norm, yet scores of people from tea parties to corporate boardrooms continue to bury their heads within the sand when it comes to tax boosts.

Poor local governments wonder, ‘Why no new taxes’?

While various economic theories exist regarding taxation, it is difficult to dispute that tax boosts could help local governments provide more reliable essential services. Krugman bemoans a federal government that can afford to issue bonds at 1.04 percent, but not extend ample assistance to suffering local governments. The fed might be doing more to assist. The sense of priority is in effect warped, says Krugman. The able rich appear to be more interesting in barding for personal war than really waging war on behalf of a disappearing America.

Cutting back and casting jobs away

Families are reeling as state and local governments are pulling more vital services off the table. Now that federal spending is really beginning to slow down, Krugman sees an America stuck in reverse. An employed teacher serves the community and creates a definite job. But you will find no guarantees when it comes to tax cuts for the rich; they might spend it or hide it away.

Assuming the worst about government cash management

There is a definite belief that the public section can’t manage cash to spite itself. Tea party anti-government, anti-taxation rhetoric has been couched in terms of avoiding waste and fraud. Krugman argues that there was never so much waste as the right claimed, however. Witnessing how much ground America has lost in terms of education and infrastructure should be enough evidence to suggest that America is not in fact sidetracked by oppressive taxation. The result of tax fear and decaying programs, writes Krugman, is that America is in a dark place, indeed.

More on this topic

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1 and amp;partner=rssnyt and amp;emc=rss



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