Monday, August 8, 2011

Questions no one is asking

-What is being done with revenue from the gasoline tax? 
The stimulus plan was allegedly for shovel-ready infrastructure jobs; the president has talked about an infrastructure bank; and, a lot of people make mention of crumbling infrastructure.  Well, aren't the revenues from gasoline sales that flow to both the federal and state governments supposed to be used for roads, bridges, etc., i.e. infrastructure?  Obviously, that is not happening so, where is the money going?
The notion that a bunch of public works, make-work projects constitute meaningful economic rejuvenation is political pabulum for people either too lazy to factcheck it, or too partisan to care that it's a lie.  The country already has an "infrastructure bank" and deposits are made every time you and your friends fill their gas tanks.  Part of the tax from gasoline purchases goes to the feds, and part goes to the states where the transactions occur.  But, to hear the political class, this gas tax is something they are unaware of, its revenues are a secret. 
-How, exactly, do you "afford" tax cuts? 
Working through this question first requires accepting that it is rooted in a great deal of intellectual bankruptcy and fundamental dishonesty.  Taxes are taken by the govt from you, BY FORCE, to use for a variety of things that may or may not constitute genuine public services.  Those who claim that tax cuts require affordability base their claim on the false premise that your earnings really are not yours, that they belong to govt which decides how much of your own money you can actually keep.  To "afford" those cuts would imply that the money that does not accrue to govt is being generated from other sources, in which case one can rightfully ask, who pockets do those other sources tap?  The answer, by the way, is yours. 
I accept that the role of taxes is to fund certain functions that benefit the public as a whole - police and fire protection, education, streets and roads, defense, jails and courts, and a few others.  But, I do not accept that what people earn belongs to the govt, that the public is required to funnel an endless pipeline of cash to the elected class, or that you or me keeping more of our own money somehow harms the republic. 
-What is a moderate or, for that matter, an independent?
I understand voters registering as independents; I have done it, too, when living in areas that are so one-party dominant that you have to be independent in order to participate.  But, what does this mean on the national level?  Ideologies range from liberal to conservative, libertarian to socialist/communist, and most of us fall somewhere in those ranges.  Finding candidates or even parties that reflect most of what each of us believes is not difficult. 
Independents have a self-righteousness that they are somehow above the fray, that they are flexible enough to consider each issue on its own merits.  They also have a heightened sense of self-importance based on the media's constant reference to independents as the deciders on national matters.  Frankly, being independent or moderate sounds a lot like being either indecisive or inattentive, and easily manipulated by whichever side delivers the prettiest speech and more artfully vilifies the opposition. 
Most of us have a belief system, most of us have a notion of what the proper role of govt is and of what constitutes good or bad policy.  Being moderate sounds like working within a huge gray area that has very small pockets of black and white, totally unlike real life.  People make decisions on where to work, where to live, who to be friends with, what stores to patronize, and who their kids hang out with based largely on black and white factors.
None of these questions is especially difficult, IF people are willing to confront and answer them honestly.  But, it is easier and more colorful to retreat to pat answers that are often heavy on misdirection and virtually bereft of rational thought.  Then again, if rational thought were in abundance, we would have another term for the questions - moot points.