Democrats’ tax increase shows lack of concern for Main Street, small business

Rep. Mike Pence delivered the weekly Republican address July 24. Pence said, "Washington D.C. doesn't tax too little. Washington D.C. spends too much. I don't know anybody back in Indiana who thinks they pay too little in taxes. Only in Washington D.C. would anyone believe raising taxes creates jobs."Some financial analysts seem to think the problem with the US economic recovery boils down to a lack of confidence. US Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) alludes to uncertainty—he said the rhetoric coming out of Washington has a “negative overall impact” that creates a discouraging environment. Democrat enthusiasm for a tax increase does little to stem the negativity.

No one seems to know exactly what the Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration are going to do next. No one knows what their actions will cost. And thus far, every action by Democrats controlling the government points to a serious lack of concern for Main Street and small business.

Add to the mix the fact we can’t trust national branded media whose employees conspired to impact the 2008 presidential election, and you have a perfect storm of distrust.

Too little attention has been paid to the shameful conduct of media employees who project themselves as writers of news but deliberately colluded to damage Obama’s opponents, even by sinking to the level of outright lies.

I thought a conspiracy to rig an election was illegal. Silly me.

But there’s a deeper problem with Democrats that goes to their ideology. Democrats always look to government and their ‘Nanny State’ mentality has broadened this government to a point where the government is hiring thousands of health cops for IRS to enforce the unconstitutional healthcare bill and money cops as a result of a financial regulation bill most in Congress probably did not read. After all, they’ve publicly admitted they don’t read the bills they pass.

One of the first bills Democrats jumped on when Obama took office was HR 1388—billions and billions of dollars for a feel-good bill that is non-profit cronyism at its worst.  Democrats voted, as usual, in lockstep with Obama’s agenda. You could accurately describe that bill’s mission as “Let’s build a bigger, better ACORN.”

A small group of Republicans reached across the one-way aisle to vote for that bill—some of them are Republicans I admire. Every one of them should hang their head in shame because anyone who voted for HR 1388 cannot call himself a conservative. As a Republican, I would like to share with you that anyone casting a ‘yes’ vote on HR 1388 cast a very misguided vote. I would like those Republicans to re-read the US Constitution.

The CBO projected a cost for HR 1388: “Estimated authorizations under the House bill totaled $9.4 billion over the 2010-2014 period…” And you can bet your 1040 that is a low-ball figure because the magic word “grants” appears throughout the bill.

By the way, it’s a good idea next time a leftwinger says the spending is all the Republicans’ fault, bear in mind that the super-billion dollar HR 1388 was a Democrat product and is a Democrat line-item that will continue to expand in coming years.

At the moment the people running this country are clueless when it comes to those Rubio calls “everyday people.” If you look at the leadership in the executive branch and the Congress, none of these people have ever run a business or created a job. They have only created net-negative jobs for the taxpayer—federal employees whose very large benefits will cost not only our generation but generations to come. I don’t begrudge the government hiring for vital agencies—we logically exempt those for national security reasons.

HR 1388 demonstrates exactly why the private sector is uncertain and lacks confidence. The bill is a sinkhole for taxpayer billions and will have no impact on the broad welfare of the country.

The people running our government are not only inept, they are not sympathetic to “everyday people” whose goal is to work hard and be self-reliant. Democrats in charge of the country have no concern for Main Street or the small businesses who face a steep tax increase. Obama and congressional leaders like to depict letting the Bush “tax cuts” expire as a regressive move.

That is a falsehood. By not renewing those tax adjustments, Democrats are passing the sizable tax increase they have coveted all along. Their lack of concern for “everyday people”—as well as their ignorance of how the tax code works and how those changes will affect small businesses—shows a serious lack of concern for the very constituents that drive this economy.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) put it in perspective on Saturday when he delivered the weekly Republican address. Pence said, “Democrats in Washington are pushing more spending, more regulation, and right around the corner: more taxes…After 18 months of runaway spending, bailouts, and takeovers, Washington Democrats are poised to allow the largest tax incrase in American history to take effect next year. The American people deserve to know every income tax bracket will increase on January 1, 2011. Every single one.”

Married couples, by the way, should plan on a tax increase because the marriage penalty will return. This is not a government that appreciates traditional families.

So next time you hear a Democrat lobby for those tax increases, don’t be fooled by their attempt to establish a political fact (or national branded media’s shilling for the same). What the president and his Congress are about to do is sock it to you with a historic tax increase to fund their historic federal spending. The least they can do is admit their lack of concern for Main Street and own up to their own financial misdeeds. (Commentary by Kay B. Day/July 24, 2010)