SOTU: Much to Do About BIG Government

Democracy and Power 103: Government Money

The money taxed and spent by the politicians comes from the labor and ingenuity of millions of working persons. Politicians spend other peoples’ money. The politician transfers money from productive people to favored special interest groups.

Much to Do About BIG Government

In the State of the Union, President Obama will propose to increase spending; gigantic increases in spending – billions of dollars.

President Obama will propose free community colleges, a $175 billion tax cut for the middle class, faster broadband internet, maternity leave, a mandatory sick leave, discounted mortgages, child care tax credit, an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, more federal funding for higher education, a "Second Earner Credit" of $500 for couples who work, and list is almost endless.

To pay for these programs, Mr. Obama proposes new taxes on the rich, big banks, capital gains, a Medicare surcharge and other tax schemes.

Alas, every sentient person knows, Mr. Obama’s spending and taxing package will not be enacted. So, why? Why, the spectacle?

After working Americans have departed from the Democratic party, he’s attempting to lure them back to the party of government – BIG government. As Senator Schumer (D-NY) recently stated, “Democrats are the party of government.”

Mr. Obama is essentially attempting to buy voters with the money of working Americans. It is not a new scheme. Over 200 years ago Voltaire wrote, “In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.”

Fortunately, more and more Americans recognize our federal government is inherently incompetent and often corrupt. Hopefully, this desperate political gambit will fail.