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Cartoon by K. Bendib, all rights reserved
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The TV News Entertainment Networks do not seem to feel that it is important to mention that when the Federal Government reduces taxes it also has to reduce spending. This means that Federal money that had gone into social programs and services now has to come from somewhere else. Where can it come from? It must come from the state and local government. So what happens? Real estate taxes go up. Public transportation costs go up. Local taxes go up. Sales taxes go up. Publicly funded programs close. Schools. police departments. fire departments. zoos, libraries, parks, arts programs and many other services have their funding cut. Once again the news services that are supposed to inform us deceive us.
Understand this; Republicans hate government and they are bigots. They are rich and they are so they do not need public education or health care etc. They do not give a damn if there are no more whales because it does not effect their bank account. They earn most of the money and they feel that they should not have to pay the way for others. They do have a valid point. Perhaps in a world where everyone had their basic needs met, health care, education, etc., they would be justified in wanting to alter the tax scheme; but in a world where THEY have EVERYTHING they need and every LUXURY that they want, and where they are still getting richer the only reason that explains their desire for tax cuts is GREED! Go ahead and say it. Greed. You will not hear this word uttered on TV and you won’t hear the weak meek Democrats say it either. TVNL is saying it. Republicans are greedy. They could care less about the well being of anyone who is not just like them. This includes race, religion and nationality.
Think about this; at the conclusion of the most prosperous decade in history the Republicans decided that they need a tax break! They just went through a 6 year period of personal wealth growth unmatched in history, and they are complaining. There is no other way to describe this other than by calling them greedy.
I admit there are many people who we should not want to support. A teenage girl who has 4 kids from 3 different fathers is a drain on society. Likewise the NFL running back who has 5 kids with 3 different women is no better, but at least he can afford to take on the burden of paying for their upbringing.
Republicans talk about wanting a smaller government. They speak of the need to spend less. They do not want to spend less; they just want to spend less on programs and services that to not line their own pockets.
The GOP approach to taxes and government services can be summed up in one phrase: I’ve got mine, now you get your own.
The answers are not all there; but cutting taxes is not the answer.
TNVL Update: A reader was kind enough to share some very important observations regarding the above commentary. We would like to share this valid observation with you:
"There are people we should not want to support, like a teenage girl with 4 kids from 3 different fathers."
What really struck me about this comment is that it is the girl, not the "fathers" who becomes dehumanized, and not worthy of our support. In am truly amazed that on one hand there are countless articles on your site which talk about the assault on women, erosion of reproductive rights and education, cuts in social services programs, and the like, while on the other hand, notwithstanding any of the arguments raised in any of these articles, you somehow come around to a way of thinking that keeps women and girls in a place of inequity. While making the aforementioned claim about the "teenage girl," did it ever occur to you that teenage pregnancy occurs when a)sex-ed classes are forbidden in schools, b)many pregnant teenagers are victims of violence, abuse, incest, c)have no health insurance or other funding sources for birth control, d) do not have the sexual political clout to say "no" or "not without a condom" e)no abortion provider in their respective county f) parental consent laws, and the list goes on.
I am in no way saying these are the circumstances in every teenage pregnancy, but what I am saying is we need to critically examine issues such as institutional discrimination, oppression, sexism, culture, class, race, and the like. Only after a careful examination of these issues, can we determine who is worthy of our support, and who is not.
Kathryn Mazierski,
President, National Organization for Women - New York State, Inc.
Few People Likely to Escape Higher Taxes - Fines, fees, surcharges, taxes: Whatever you call it, the bottom line is that cash-strapped states are seeking billions of new dollars from their citizens, enough to potentially double the load of new taxes this year and erase much of the windfall American taxpayers enjoyed in the 1990s. The Bottom Line: Bogus - For most ordinary people, the tax-cut benefits amount to less than zero. What the Feds give, state and local governments will take away Very Richest's Share of Income Grew Even Bigger, Data Show - The data, in a report that the I.R.S. released last night, shows that the average income of the 400 wealthiest taxpayers was almost $174 million in 2000. That was nearly quadruple the $46.8 million average in 1992 - TVNL comment: After all that they needed tax breaks? Damn greed! No other words for it. Bush and PNAC are greedy bastards! Two GOP reps resign from New Hampshire House - A Republican legislator from Sandown is leaving the party, saying Gov. Craig Benson doesn’t care about state residents, and that Republicans are cheering Benson on. Corey Corbin said Benson, through his budget plans, is assaulting kids, senior citizens, small businesses and working families. - TVNL Comments: As described above, Republicans do not care about the little people! Dividend Tax Cut Cost More Than Thought - Senators who approved a suspension of taxes on investor dividends last week underestimated the cost of the measure by $70 billion because of an error by congressional tax experts. Tied to the Tax Break - Cheney votes, may reap reward - ‘Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote on the Senate's $350-billion tax cut last week could have a dramatic impact on his own tax return -- it would save him tens of thousands of dollars.’ Orange alert for freedom - Once again, cash-short states and local governments are being asked to put more law-enforcement officers on alert to protect Americans from possible terrorist threats – the feds can't tell us what kind, or who, or where. Stating the Obvious - ‘The Financial Times suggests that "more extreme Republicans" actually want a fiscal train wreck: "Proposing to slash federal spending, particularly on social programs...’ Borrow & Spend - Bush Quietly Signs Bill to Allow Federal Borrowing to Grow by Nearly $1 Trillion - TVNL Asks: If the government needs to borrow more money how can it afford to cut taxes? Bush and PNAC are looting the government and they will leave future tax payers will the bills; the little guys; the ones without tax shelters. US 'faces future of chronic deficits' - But the Bush administration chose to keep the findings out of the annual budget report for fiscal year 2004, published in February, as the White House campaigned for a tax-cut package that critics claim will expand future deficits. - TVNL comments” “chose to keep the findings out of the annual budget report”? OK Bush fans/Republican; how is this not deception? How is this not lying? The Tax Bill's Final Indignity - The tax bill that President Bush triumphantly signed into law on Wednesday is not just unfair, dishonest and economically unsound. It is also cruel to low-income families. Bush's Tax Cuts - A Form of National Insanity - Insanity, said Albert Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results Governors Set to Back Significant Medicaid Changes - The plan would endorse much of the proposal put forth by President Bush. That plan has attracted considerable opposition from Democrats and others who fear it would jeopardize basic benefits and protections for people in the health insurance program for the poor. States Use Gimmicks To Tackle Deficits - What's a governor to do when he raises corporate taxes by $1 billion, proposes $3 billion in spending cuts, taps his state's entire tobacco settlement and drains every state fund with a positive balance? G.O.P. Chief's Idea for Raising Alabama: Taxes - Mr. Riley has stunned his state and his party, and risked his political future, by calling for Alabama's largest tax increase ever: $1.3 billion, or 22 percent of the taxes the state now collects. - TVNL comment: As stated at the top of this page, the money has to come from somewhere. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to realize this. Frustrated Mayors Seek Security Funds - Congress recently ordered 80 percent of the funding for homeland security projects to go to first responders in cities and counties, and limited to 20 percent the amount state governments can keep Survey finds 'grueling year' and fiscal woes for states - Tax hikes and spending cuts - Also, governors in 29 states proposed tax and fee increases for fiscal year 2004, for a total tax hike of $17.5 billion. And that is the largest such hike since 1979, - TVNL comments: This is a result of the 1st Bush tax cut. States Consider Closing Historic Sites - Serious budget shortfalls have historic preservation programs across the country fighting for survival, according to the National Trust, an advocacy group for historic preservation. Oblivious in D.C. - Those who still believe that the policies of the Bush administration will set in motion some kind of renaissance in Iraq should take a look at what's happening to the quality of life for ordinary Americans here at home. - The president, buoyed by the bountiful patronage of the upper classes, seems indifferent to the increasingly harsh struggles of the working classes and the poor. Blame Bush in State Fiscal Crisis - Remember Enron and those other scandals that cost folks their jobs and their 401(k) savings? They were a result of deregulation, the mantra of the Republicans. States' tactic to stem red ink: borrowing - As budget deadlines for 46 states arrive, officials beg, borrow, and repeal to fill gaps. - "It's not a comfortable situation when the only brake on a state is the concerns of people on Wall Street." Bush Wants To Bankrupt America: There is Method To His Madness - The plan is very simple, but not obvious on first blush. Make sure that all the money is gone from the U.S. treasury, make sure the deficits are so great that all social and educational programs are cut, increase the military and security budgets to "protect our nation" with all these monies going to corporations and security firms... ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ Economics - Bush is a regular guy who doesn’t care a whole lot about regular people.- When Al Gore exaggerated the details of his dog’s prescriptions, it helped cost him the presidency. The very same people who eviscerated him for it are now saying, hey, cut President Bush some slack—he wasn’t lying about Saddam Hussein’s nuclear ambitions, only exaggerating . Compassion and the Tax Cuts - Missing from the photo opportunity, unless the president plans something truly dramatic, will be any children from poor families left out of the child-credit boon while the Republican-controlled Congress continues to wrangle over this shameful omission. The Amazing Disappearing Tax Revenue - Officials, Economists Ponder Whereabouts - The exploding federal budget deficit has triggered fierce recriminations among politicians over who is to blame, but in Washington's less-partisan budget circles, the White House's projected $455 billion deficit for 2003 has underscored a growing mystery: Where has all the tax revenue gone? Lost along the way - Seven Counties Services has cut its mental-health programs, straining the community's limited resources - Because of reduced state funding and frozen Medicaid payments, the agency no longer sees patients with severe mental illness unless they are being released from a hospital or are current clients. It also closed some programs and eliminated 69 jobs. Huge deficit in states drags down US economy - Having already stripped the US economic growth, the budget crises in many US states are now beginning to drag down the national economy, prolonging the weak, jobless US economic recovery. US Homelessness and Poverty Rates Skyrocket While Billions are Spent Overseas on Occupation - The 2002 survey of 25 cities by the US Conference of Mayors recorded a 19% increase in the requests for emergency food has risen by 19% in 2002. 100% of the cities reported these increases. Requests for food by families increased by 17% while requests for food by the elderly increased by 19%. - 48% of people requesting food were families with children. 38% were currently employed at the time of the request. - In 2002, 16% of all food requests went unmet due to lack of resources. 14% of families did not have their requests met adequately. - 4 Billion a month to occupy Iraq, 1.9 billion to occupy Afghanistan Tax cuts just hurt state budgets - Democrats Saturday said President Bush's economic policies have done little to create jobs and have forced many state and local governments to raise taxes and cut spending for education, public safety and health care. - TVNL comment: Republican governers had claimed the same thing. Educators sue Bush - The suit claims the federal government has not provided adequate funding to the states to implement the regulations of the program, consequently adding more financial burden to already money-strapped state budgets. Twilight Zone Economics - But recent news coverage and commentary — in particular, the enthusiastic headlines that followed a modest increase in growth and a modest decline in jobless claims — suggest that some people still don't get it. So here's a brief refresher course on twilight zone Economics 101. First lady unveils plans to beautify Pennsylvania Ave. - Tourists - now channeled by highway-style concrete barriers and heavy planters - will be able to move more freely when the $26 million project is complete in 2004. - TVNL Comment: This is how the Bush/PNAC administration prioritizes spending. Bush Lie Number 1; The Tax Cut Lie - The biggest lie is that he cut taxes. And a big joke is that it will hit the rich people who are supposed to be benefiting from it too. - Perhaps one of the biggest categories is education. States are being creamed by the budget shortfalls and they are making up for it by raising local school and real estate taxes. They are raising college tuitions. So, you got your $400 rebate for your kid under 14, well you'll pay $500-1000 or more extra for your 19 year old in college. But that's not all. About 84,000 students will lose federal Pell grants. That's because Bush cut these financial need based scholarships funding by $270 million. A 'revolution' awry - In less than 3 years, Bush & Co. have turned a $230 billion surplus into a deficit of $525 billion U.S. - Pretty soon, if we're not careful, we'll forget that the Bush administration inherited a $230 billion surplus. Assuming that David Copperfield hasn't been having a field day on Capitol Hill, we are left to wonder, where'd the money go? America's richest get richer - America's richest tycoons increased their personal wealth over the past 12 months, partly reversing a two-year decline, according to Forbes magazine's annual snapshot of America's super-wealthy. - The total net worth of the 400 wealthiest people in the US rose by 10% over the year to $955bn Romney eyes benefit cuts for jobless - Economy drains unemployment insurance fund - With the state's unemployment insurance fund nearly drained by the sluggish economy, Governor Mitt Romney wants to cut the length of time that out-of-work employees can receive state unemployment benefits, and force businesses to pay more into the fund. Number of People Living in Poverty in U.S. Increases Again - Poverty rose and income levels declined in 2002 for the second straight year as the nation's economy continued struggling after the first recession in a decade, the Census Bureau reported Friday. - Even before the data was made public, House Democrats charged the Bush administration was trying to hide bad economic news by releasing the numbers on a Friday when people are paying more attention to the upcoming weekend. In previous years, the estimates were released on a Tuesday or Thursday Senate Defeats Tax Move in Iraq Spending Package - The Senate easily beat back a Democratic effort yesterday to pay for President Bush's $87 billion spending request for Iraq and Afghanistan by raising taxes on affluent Americans. Senior Republicans, meanwhile, scrambled to turn back bipartisan efforts to demand that Iraq repay at least some of the proposed U.S. spending on reconstruction. What Alabama's Low-Tax Mania Can Teach the Rest of the Country - The cuts are reaching down to core government functions. The court system is laying off 500 of 1,600 workers, from clerk's office employees to probation officers. The health department is losing investigators who track tuberculosis, and sharply reducing restaurant inspections. - TVNL Comment: This is just one example of what happens when you do not have sufficient tax revenues. Charitable Giving Falls for First Time in Years - The nation's 400 biggest charities, ranked by how much they gather in money and gifts each year, collected a total of $46.9 billion worth of donations in 2002, compared with $47.5 billion in 2001, after adjusting for inflation. That is a drop of 1.2 percent, a notable departure from the average annual increase of 12 percent over the previous five years, the survey found. - TVNL Comment: Yep, those tax cuts are really helping! There's a Catch: Jobs - The president tells us the economy is accelerating, and the statistics seem to bear him out. But don't hold your breath waiting for your standard of living to improve. Bush country is not a good environment for working families. - • The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by three million in the past two years. • The median household income has fallen for the past two years. • The number of dual-income families, particularly those with children under 18, has declined sharply. State cuts hinder reforms more than U.S. shortfall - Their message is identical: The 2001 reform law, known as the No Child Left Behind Act, falls $8 billion short of providing cash-strapped states the money they need to comply with ambitious new mandates. - The funding shortfalls that place the success of federal education reforms in greater jeopardy result from states' education cuts. So far this year, 11 states have reduced K-12 school funding. Republicans Worry Proposed Tax Breaks Will Drive Away Jobs - Some House Republicans are rebelling against a $128 billion package of business tax cuts aimed at helping U.S. manufacturers and endorsed by GOP leaders, griping that it offers too much to multinational corporations that are moving plants and jobs overseas. Cash-strapped schools going to four-day week - Mostly rural school systems in at least 10 other states have made the switch to save money: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, according to a 2002 survey by the National School Boards Association. - TVNL Comment: $87 Billion for Iraq, over $2 billion in military aid to Israel. We sacrifice our already uneducated and uninformed population. Study Says Local Tax Bite Is Deepest in New York - New Yorkers pay more of their income in local taxes than residents of any other state, according to a study by a budget watchdog group. - "There's certainly been tax increases across the country, but there is certainly no reason to think that our tax increases have been less than others'," Marcia J. Van Wagner, the chief economist for the commission, said on Monday. "You wouldn't think it has gotten any better." - TVNL Comment: These tax increases were a result of the Bush tax cuts. Bush gets the public credit for the tax cuts yet the public does not realize that the result will be added local taxes and less services. Government Outgrows Cap Set by President - Discretionary Spending Up 12.5% in Fiscal '03 - Confounding President Bush's pledges to rein in government growth, federal discretionary spending expanded by 12.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, capping a two-year bulge that saw the government grow by more than 27 percent, according to preliminary spending figures from congressional budget panels. Facing a Squeeze, Counties in New York Increase Taxes - "The political benefits are reaped in Albany," said Edmund J. McMahon, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a research institution that advocates shrinking government and lowering taxes. "But the fiscal price is paid at the local government level." Gov.'s Cuts to Hit Poor, Universities - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected today to propose $3.8 billion in budget cuts over the next 19 months, including reductions in services to the poor and disabled, as well as in higher education programs. - Republicans who saw the cuts praised Schwarzenegger for taking the initiative to solve a budget problem that they said will only get worse with delay. - "It's almost like a necessary pain that we have to go through," said Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who will become Assembly Republican leader in January. TVNL Comment: Cutting services for the poor and disables are necessary pains but asking a millionaire or billionaire to give up their tax cut is not. This is called greed and it is imoral. Some cities skip lights for the cost - Many downtowns a little less festive this holiday season - Clark is just one of a number of communities nationwide going without holiday decorations this year because municipalities can’t afford them and donations are down. - Many cities are experiencing their worst fiscal conditions since the recession of the early 1980s, said Chris Hoene, a research manager with the National League of Cities. Federal, local cuts pull cops off streets - The federal program that added more than 100,000 cops to local police forces and helped to cut crime to historically low rates during the past decade is being rolled back because local governments can't afford to keep many of the officers on the street. - TVNL Comment: Another wonderful result of the Bush Tax cuts! Shortfall in Car Tax to Hit Home - Local governments this week will receive two-thirds less from the state than anticipated. Officials may resort to higher taxes, lawsuits. - As a consequence, local governments across the state likely will have to begin cutting programs ranging from fire coverage to libraries, government officials say. Bush Economic Aide Says Government Lacks Vision - "I will tell you, it is very hard for this government to have a vision on anything. We are totally stove-piped, and we live within these compartments. This is not by way of a complaint. This is not by way of an excuse. It is by way of a fact. States Tell Rumsfeld of Strained Budgets - Rising federal defense spending and the extraordinary use of National Guard and Reserve troops are straining state budgets, lawmakers told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld Friday. - ``I simply want to make the point that there are many many ... programs that we are not able to fund with the amount of money that's being spent on the war,'' States Cut Health Spending on the Poor - More than 1.2 million low-income Americans, including 500,000 children, have lost health coverage as a result of state cutbacks in programs for the poor, according to a new study by a liberal Washington think tank. - TVNL Comment: This is a result of the tax cuts. Once again we see how the rich are getting rich and the poor are getting the shaft. Homelessness, hunger worsen, mayors' report finds - The US Conference of Mayors painted a dismal picture yesterday of growing homelessness and hunger among low-income, working families and reported a dramatic decrease in 2003 in the ability of most of the nation's 25 major cities to meet these basic needs. - TVNL Comment: Those tax breaks are having some great impact! Beter make them permanent, before the people catch on! Tight state budgets squeez health care for kids - Children across the country are being cut off from doctors because cash-strapped states are rolling back health insurance for the working poor, an investigation by Gannett News Service has found. Shortsighted States Are Putting Health Care on the Chopping Block - The number of Americans without health insurance now equals the population of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois and North Carolina combined. From 2000 through 2002 alone, the number of uninsured Americans jumped by nearly 4 million, to 43.5 million overall. Today almost one in six Americans lacks health insurance. The Budget Politics of Being Poor - Quietly and painfully, most states are choosing to crimp the health-care safety net for their poorest and most politically defenseless residents. An ominous new study shows that up to 1.6 million impoverished and working-poor Americans — at least a third of them children — have been deliberately knocked from publicly financed health care programs in the last two years. - Things would be even worse except for the $20 billion in state emergency aid that the Republican-led Congress was embarrassed into approving at the height of the tax-cut frenzy this year. Costs Mounting From Terrorism Alert - Costs Related to Increase in Terrorism Alert Piling Up for State and Local Officials - The sacrifice can be measured in dollars and cents and surely it will run into the tens of millions. Detroit Public Schools Announce 3,200 Cuts - he city's struggling public schools are cutting 3,200 jobs - including at least 900 teaching positions - to close a budget gap, officials announced Thursday. - TVNL Comment: Your tax dollars not at work! Those cuts are having a great affect!. Texas legislators reverse anti-tax stance, debate several new fees - A year ago, the mantra echoing through the Texas Capitol was: No new taxes. No way, no how. - Now, the state's Republican governor and legislative leaders are debating new taxes on businesses, cars, bottled water, newspapers, billboards and pro sports tickets. They're contemplating raising the sales tax, legalizing and taxing video slot machines and increasing the cigarette tax. Governor threatens up to 5,000 layoffs - In a brass-knuckles negotiating ploy, Gov. Blagojevich threatened Thursday to pink-slip as many as 5,000 state workers -- if lawmakers don't raise certain taxes and fees and cut corporate tax breaks to balance the upcoming state budget. As Cities Struggle, Police Get By With Less - Many cities with budget shortfalls are cutting their police forces and closing innovative law enforcement units that helped reduce crime in the 1990's, police chiefs and city officials say. Teachers Lose Tax Breaks for Supplies - Because of a budget crunch, California has suspended a tax credit that reimbursed teachers up to $1,500 for classroom supplies. Meanwhile, a $250 federal tax deduction for teachers that helped defray out-of-pocket spending expired this year. States may lose funds for kids' health care - Unless Congress acts and President Bush relents in the next week, states will have to return more than $1 billion in money intended to pay for health insurance for children from low-income families. Property taxes rising nationwide - With people starting to receive their 2005 tax bills, the levies are squeezing the middle class and senior citizens - leaving them less to spend on everything from restaurants to roof repair. There is also concern the taxes could particularly hurt the home-buying chances of the young or civil servants such as firefighters. States such as New Jersey now have grass-roots efforts - verging on revolts - for reform. Cut in U.S. Housing Aid Raises Concerns for Poor - The budget gap, part of a nationwide squeeze by the Bush administration in spending on housing programs, could mean that the authority would have to reduce the number of planned vouchers by more than 6,000 this year from the city's current 118,000. Do Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Stimulate Employment? - These tax cuts account for much of the $2 trillion increase in the national debt projected to occur during the Bush presidency. They prompted a large group of Nobel laureates in economics to issue a statement last year condemning the administration's "reckless and extreme course that endangers the long-term economic health of our nation." - Mr. Bush never pretended that the tax cuts were needed to make life more comfortable for the well to do. After all, with the bulk of all pretax income gains having gone to top earners in recent years, this group has prospered as never before.
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