Here's the rub: Romney and his red friends would have you believe there is a large class of people who are completely dependent on the federal government for their food and housing and 'whatever', that this class of people claim they are victims of the system and coincidentally pay no income tax. Red kool-aid drinkers will tell you this class of dependent people is 47% of the American population, which is really close to number of American's who have no federal income tax liability (46% according to the IRS). The problem with this red logic lies in the numbers, or lack thereof. The U.S. Department of Health - the government organization in charge of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), often called welfare - says only 8% of the U.S. population (29.9 million people) received funds from TANF in 2011, and only 1.7% of the U.S. population receive over 50% of their income from TANF. So at most one in every twelve and a half people (8 in 100) are in this dependent class, no where near the 47% number. Raise your hand - digitally of course - if you've every taken out a subsidized student load, gotten a Pell Grant or Supplemental Educational Opportunty Grant, used the Montgomery G.I. Bill (written by Sonny Montgomery, a Democrat from Mississippi BTW) to pay for your college education, received unemployment insurance or workers compensation when you were out of work or relied on food stamps to put food on the table. If you answered any of those questions with a yes - and I listed a small, small percentage of federal programs - then you are technically part of the dependent class. Yes, that includes all of you red friends!! It seems many red politicians have forgotten the basic goals laid out for the U.S. government in the Constitution, namely promoting the general welfare.
Instead all politicians ignore the basic problem with our government - spending!! Is entitlement spending a problem? Yes, and it will only grow larger and larger. Is military spending a problem? Yes, and it will only grow larger and larger. In 2008, our military - with the consent of our Congress and President - decided to spend $662million to refurbish the U.S.S. Enterprise, a nuclear aircraft carrier, to extent it's operation life until 2012 (after a two year refurbishment period, the Navy actually only will get two years of operational life from the refurbished Enterprise). This money was spent despite the FACT the U.S. Navy has ten times the number of aircraft carriers of any other navy and the FACT the United States spends more on its military than the next 22 nations COMBINED! Republican President - Democratic Congress .. who's to blame?? The United States doesn't have a tax revenue problem (despite 46% of America having no federal income tax liability), the United States has a spending problem. Instead of pointing to the dependent class as a problem, why not point the finger at the defense contractors who go wildly overbudget ($124BILLION in 2010 alone - more than the mandatory military spending cuts currently before Congress) or are delinquent in their tax payments ($3BILLION in delinquent taxes currently owed by defense contractors alone!!)??? Because criticizing military spending immediately marks you with a scarlet letter - Unpatriotic. So according to red philosophy - hold people responsible for their own well-being, but allow military contractors to behave in the most irresponsible manner possible. U.S. military spending has increased from $300Billion in 2001 to $550 Billion in 2011 ... did I miss an 86% inflation rate over the last decade? Feel free to talk entitlement cuts and dependent classes, just be prepared to hear about the military-industrial complex and the people who benefit from military contractor investments.
Both sides are to blame for the financial cliff the United States is teetering on. People who fail to acknowledge the complicity of both parties for this impending disaster are playing ostrich. Republicans and Democrats alike won't include speaking points about the the financial Freddy Krueger in our government's nightmares. No red and blue glasses for me!
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