Monday, January 13, 2014

Makers And Takers



I think I've said this before, but, despite the impenetrable minds of teabaggers, it can't hurt to keep trying, even if it's a lost cause.

There's nothing that's ever settled for today's Republicans, whether it's the location of a president's birth, Benghazi, teleprompters, same sex marriage, birth control, you name it. And so it is with the dirty poor, moochers all, back in the news (they never left) since Rs demanded the end of unemployment benefits and their media mouthpieces on Fox "news" and talk radio rallied to their defense.

Ever since Saint Ronald mentioned welfare queens and their Cadillacs, it's been gods' truth that anyone who hasn't a full-time job, who might be a union member, is on food stamps, medicaid, unemployment, or partakes of any other social help programs (exceptions: corporate tax cuts, farm subsidies for corporate farms, tax shelters...) is nothing more than a lazy "taker" from our benighted and martyred job creators.

No one likes the idea of people taking advantage. I get that, and I share the feeling. But what I don't get is this: if Republicans think everyone on food stamps or unemployment should stop "eating bonbons" and get a job, why is it that they've done everything possible to prevent the creation of those jobs?

Of course, they'd argue that they've always advocated the one and only thing necessary for job creation: tax cuts on businesses. Lower taxes, and businesses will start hiring, because it's obvious: hiring has nothing to do with whether there's a market for your widgets. It's all about taxes. No one's buying what you're making? Not a problem. They'd hire workers to sit around eating bonbons if only they didn't have to pay (historically low) taxes. (Let's ignore, for a moment and for all eternity, that when George "they have WMD" Bush lowered taxes enough to blow a balanced budget and skyrocket our debt, it was followed by the worst job losses since the depression. But that's fact. That's history. Who relies on that liberal crap?)

How idiotic. What makes jobs is people buying stuff. What allows people to buy stuff is having money. What allows that is, among other things, raising minimum wage. Maintaining unemployment benefits while looking for work. Paying for training programs. Investing in infrastructure. Making it so that health care costs don't bankrupt people. What good Republican fiscally sound business person would hire more people than s/he needs to make the products they're able to sell, just because their taxes were lowered?

All the things which make jobs, in other words, are those that today's Republicans are absolutely and inalterably against. They have it entirely ass-backwards, which would be easy to see if they didn't already have their heads in there.

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