Taxes and Wasted Money

So I was reading an article on Jack Conway (the Democratic candidate in the upcoming Senate election here in Kentucky) and how he's flip-flopped on whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts. During the primary, he asserted that they should be allowed to expire. Now, purportedly to seem less liberal, he's calling for an extension of the tax cuts.

Something smells fishy, yes?

I found it even more annoying when, upon scrolling down to read the comments, someone was calling Republicans hypocrites for complaining about the national debt, then demanding tax cuts, which would "increase the deficit." It seems someone has forgotten that conservatives, as a general rule, also support less government spending.

Granted, there are a few 'Republicans' who are all for big government.

But most of us wish we didn't have things like the Stimulus law adding to the deficit. I mean, what's it given me? Hmm...let's see...we've had two road construction projects that tout the "American Investment and Recovery Act" signs. One can probably be deemed helpful, but did we actually need that money to get it done? The other doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. One lane of traffic is blocked off, and the lane where the construction people were working has been covered with fresh, bumpy pavement. I'm not sure what they're doing there.

I still believe the only reason those signs went up by the projects was to further annoy people on their way home from work as they're stuck in traffic because of the blocked roads. Kentucky is pretty conservative.

So you're a Democrat, eh?

I think I'm going to invent my own new hobby. It goes like this--I ask my friends what political party they identify with. When a Democrat pops up, I'll start pressing them on the issues that their party supports. You know, things like:

• abortion for any woman, at any stage of pregnancy, without the approval of people who matter (you know, like minors' parents)
• raising taxes to Big Government
• gun control (that only is abided by...law abiding citizens)
• skipping over drilling for oil in more places on our property, so while the private sector invents alternative fuel, we keep buying from the middle east
• etc. etc. etc.

I feel as though, especially among young voters (or close-to-voting-age high schoolers), people just don't understand the consequences of liberal policies. I knew a guy who told me, "I identify most with the Democratic Party," but upon pressing him for issues he sided with, he had nothing. This from a guy who can vote in two years.

It seems as though the only issues that the everyday high school or college student cares about are (1) gay marriage, and, more recently, (2) the health care bill. That's it. No thoughts given to the messed up tax system, Government waste, the national debt, or the fact that the only people who are stopped from carrying guns on campus are the people who care about the rules and that, subsequently, students are less safe, since they are unarmed. It saddens me.