'TEA PARTY' INCONSISTENT ON 'WHERE SHOULD WE CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING?'
“I have always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way.” Carl Jung
Don't tax me. Tax the man behind the tree!
A few years ago, I was a part of an influential group that met once a week at the Petroleum Club. There was a man there who was a rabid “conservative” who constantly railed at the government, and its many wasteful projects, always saying ‘We should cut spending of every government program. All the government should do is deliver the mail’ he would say. I learned one day, that he bought his home with the help of an FHA loan. Purchased his farm with the help of a government loan, his life was saved through medical procedures paid for by government programs, and he gladly accepted social security checks every month. When I asked him,
“Which of the programs that have benefited you would you cut?” He grunted and said; “None of them”.
Tarrant County and Fort Worth gets $52,000,000,000 per year in Federal spending. Recently a group of vocal “Tea Baggers” were interviewed by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, after their loud protests of government spending they were asked about which government programs they would actually cut. It was a "reality check". Are these people for real, or are these "Tea Parties" political posturing?
Here are a sampling of answers:
Gina Skinner of Colleyville, a Tea Party activist, said that her husband gets Social Security and Medicare. She said: “I don’t think we should cut those.”
U.S. Representative Kay Granger didn’t care to comment on programs that should be cut. She supported the US Government allocating $26.4 billion in defense contracts to Fort Worth. She led the battle for the “Trinity River” project that is spending nearly one billion dollars to “reroute the Trinity” for shopping development (A project many have called a boondoggle). She thought that was a wise way to spend Federal Money, and even her son, got a well paid executive job with the agency in charge. We might call that "double dipping in the pork barrel" or "pork eating pork". Granger doesn't believe in "tax and spend," her philosophy seems to be "spend and spend, and tax the other guy".
U.S. Representative Joe Barton has been a huge and loud proponent to “cut spending," but when he recently earmarked $2,000,000 for a local company that contributes money to his political fund, he thought that was just fine. The huge aggregate and utility companies in his district are his largest contributors, and he has approved repeated federal projects in his district. His only cost cutting idea seemed to be to not allow the EPA to enforce the law on polluters. Those very same polluters that have made contributions to him.Hmmmm, stop spending by not enforcing the law? Novel idea Joe, but about what we have learned to expect from you.
U.S Representative Bob Burgess attended "Tea Parties" and has been critical of Obama’s “spending," yet he said that federal spending in his district is not enough. He said that people needed more health and medical services.
Jennifer Campbell of Bedford, who organized a Hurst Tea Party, simply said she would need more information before cutting any federal spending. One must ask then if she didn't have enough data to lead a crowd in a "cut spending rally" why did she sponsor the event?
Tom Wilder runs the Tarrant County District Clerk's office but seems to always support more spending on his staff and office. Hmmmmmmmm. We like this "Tea Party" philosophy. As an appraiser I can see their philosphy: "Don't cut you, don't cut me, cut the man behind the tree." Things have higher value that way, right?