Many anti-conservatives and a small yet vocal slice of those
who style themselves as conservative equate the conservatism brand with
the anti-tax stance.
Such silliness, however, isn’t critical thinking and belies
the type of conservatism that prefers to pay as we go. In this
potpourri column, we’ll question putting war on the tab.
I’m anti-tax generally. Thoughtless spending angers me.
Unbalanced budgets don’t impress me. Tea parties don’t
impress either, nor do Republicans or Democrats who spew talking
points.
President Obama’s measured speech on sending 30,000 troops to
Afghanistan might have reached me had it included payment plans for the
$30 billion annual cost. But he said little and was vague about paying
for what he has called a “war of necessity.”
A couple of New York Times columnists talk of paying for it via a
gasoline tax hike, one too small and one quite large. How about
something in between?
David Brooks pushes a nickel per gallon, with pictures of troops on
gas pumps to justify it. He’s the conservative. Tom Friedman
pushes $1 per gallon, pie in the sky if I’ve ever heard it. More
liberal, obviously.
Middle ground could be a quarter per gallon, which would raise $35
billion annually to cover the surge so future generations escape paying
completely for a war they (hopefully) will just read about in history
books.
Or we could boost the gas tax a dime, raising $14 billion annually,
then use some repaid TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds and
yield for the rest of the war’s cost. That makes more sense than
Obama administration jobs creation schemes.
Some in Congress want to stop putting all war costs on the tab.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, a Democrat, talks
of taxation. But it’s because he opposes escalation in
Afghanistan rather than a real desire to tax.
I’ll be interested to hear more on this from Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, Nevada’s own, as his 2010 re-election bid
nears.
Other potpourri stuff:
• Speaking of Sen. Reid, the outlook at this writing indicates the
Democrats’ leader in the upper chamber couldn’t deliver on
the majority’s public option health care push. Republicans and a
few conservative Democrats foiled it even as Reid compared adamant
opposition on health “reform” to those who opposed slavery.
Horsepucky, Harry.
• Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki returned to political viability because a
judge dismissed charges he mishandled public funds. Republicans think
he was unjustly indicted. The Democrats’ counter spin is that
Krolicki got off the hook. Truth be told, this is how the system works.
Krolicki ignored a law, but it was a minor infraction. The umpire
decided; that’s it. Let’s move on.
• Criticism that Gov. Jim Gibbons is using the state’s
Economic Forum for political purposes is just twaddle. He called the
forum in before he must decide next month whether to convene a special
legislative session on the budget shortfall. This is like President
Obama seeking advice before deciding what to do in Afghanistan. Taking
time and seeking information may or may not be political, but
it’s still common sense.
• Adios with thanks to Reno businessman Frank Bender, who died this
month. He is credited with helping develop area warehousing, following
in his father Edwin Bender’s footsteps. The elder Bender
spearheaded a 1949 Nevada Freeport law, which lets goods move through
the state tax free and fosters jobs. The younger Bender built on that
as a member of the state’s Commission on Economic
Development.