Nine Things to Really Fear This Halloween

Politics can be frightening, and while we’re optimists about America, there are certainly some troubling problems that need to be solved. So, in the spirit of Halloween, here’s a look at the nine scariest monsters now haunting the political and economic scene:

Dick Gephardt’s Army of Darkness

Less than a week before the election, everyone is watching the Senate hang in the balance. Meanwhile, Dick Gephardt and his anti-freedom Army threaten to capture the House of Representatives. After all, Democrats only need to win 6 seats before Speaker Gephardt emerges from the mist. While the Republican record in the House is inconsistent, the prospect of Democrat control is downright terrifying. That’s because powerful Committee Chair positions are determined by seniority, and the most senior House Democrats are some of the most out-of-touch legislators in our history. These guys hail from safe, liberal seats where their socialist ideas go unchallenged. As a group, they have never worked in the private sector, they oppose free trade, they love government spending, and they are anti-business. If the Army of Darkness appears, let’s hope that President Bush discovers his own special power: the veto pen.

Election Lawyer Gremlins

An unhappy new trend—suing instead of conceding elections—is led by a whiny class of lawyers bent on shoving every aspect of American life into a courtroom. They emerged among the flutter of hanging chads in Florida in 2000, and with all the of the election craziness this year, THEY’RE BACK! This weekend, Democrat lawyers filed motions in Minnesota as the first salvo to contest the election if Mondale loses. And look for the possibility of suits if there are close outcomes in the unusual Louisiana and Missouri Senate races. Although Congress is now paying for $4 billion in new election equipment, it may not help much because lousy poll workers and complicated referendums are as much of a problem as faulty equipment. And the litigation surrounding our democracy will only get worse as the McCain-Feingold restrictions on free speech go into effect on November 6 th.

The Twilight Zone Congress

Thanks in large part to the Daschle Senate’s obstructionism, and in small part to the increased workload from homeland security, Congress failed to pass a budget or spending bills for fiscal 2003, which began this month. As a result, the government is operating under special “continuing resolutions” that just extend the current budget. GOP and Dems are both waiting to see how the election turns out, each hoping their side will emerge stronger after Nov. 5th. Either way, as a result, we’ll have a “Twilight Zone Congress,” comprised in part of members who lost elections, passing major spending bills. Less accountability means that these bills will probably break the bank more than usual. Things will get even stranger if some of the Senate races are left unsettled by lawsuits (see above) or run-offs, and control of the lame-duck Senate flips back and forth weekly.

Social Security Blob

The Blob, as you remember, grew and grew uncontrollably, devouring everything in its path. In 2001, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for

$854 billion, or 48 percent of the U.S. government’s domestic spending. As baby boomers begin to retire, the Social Security Blob is going to consume even more and more of the federal budget. If it is not confronted today, politicians will have to stop the Blob by raising payroll taxes on young workers and reducing benefits for seniors, leading to an economic disaster. But there is still time to fix things, if we act now. We can stop the Social Security Blob by passing structural reforms NEXT YEAR that allow workers to save and invest some of their Social Security taxes in Private Retirement Accounts. President Bush is on board with reform, but Congress is probably too weak-minded to act…until it’s too late!

Airport Security Body Snatchers

The new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are the guys rummaging through your check-out bags while spending millions on already-outdated luggage screening equipment. When Congress voted last year to create the TSA, it assumed we’d need 30,000 new airport screeners and related security personnel. TSA now says that number has more than doubled to an astonishing 72,000 new federal employees. Talking about body snatchers– that’s a workforce bigger than the entire United States Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) combined! Instead of body-snatching bureaucracy, competing private companies, left free to innovate while meeting tough federal security standards, are the best way to provide for aviation security.

The Undead Death Tax

The Death Tax, also know as the Estate Tax….When Americans die, Uncle Sam comes to the funeral to claim half of our businesses, savings, and farms. This is unfair; it punishes hard-working entrepreneurs and family farmers, and the Death Tax destroys jobs as businesses are liquidated to pay the government. Congress and President Bush finally killed this terrible tax last year, right? Just when you thought Congress put the stake in the heart of the Death Tax, we learned that it’s not really dead. Rather, Congress pathetically failed to kill it outright, instead opting for a legislative “phase out” to 2010. So, in 2011, the Death Tax returns in full force from beyond the grave.

State Budget Vampires

That sucking sound you hear is the collapse of state government finances across America. The red ink is flowing from Albany to Sacramento. As a group, this year the states are dealing with a combined budget deficit of $50 billion, or about 10 percent of total state government spending. Two years into the slowdown, states have mostly exhausted their “rainy day funds” and their budget accounting gimmicks. A new report from the National Governor’s Association notes that “the evidence is overwhelming that 2003 will be much worse than 2002.” Unfortunately, many states are more interested in raising taxes than cutting spending. The State Budget Vampires will be hungry next year, and you can expect them to demand an unhealthy dose of new taxes to slate their thirst.

American Energy Werewolves

The Werewolves began their current run when Bill Clinton, in 1996, unilaterally designated a huge tract of Utah land as wilderness. The move trapped a trillion dollars in clean-burning coal underground, never to be used. Today, the full moon is out again, as the same anti-energy crowd opposes oil exploration on American soil, keeping us dependent on the Middle East. Exploring in ANWR in the remote Alaska wilderness? These wilderness-lovers say no way. It’s a back-handed assault on the American economy and the American way of life; by denying our economy affordable energy, they reduce opportunity for all Americans.

Tax Code Chamber of Horrors

“Many enter, none ever return!” The federal tax code is a 44,000 page catalog of favors for special interests, and a chamber of horrors for the rest of America. Frazzled businesses and individuals must tangle with an ever-growing sprawl of red tax tape. Income tax regulations, which provide taxpayers with the “guidance” they need to calculate their taxes, have grown exponentially from 572,000 words in 1955 to 5,947,000 words by 2000. No wonder there isn’t a single person in the world capable of actually understanding our entire tax code. Congress needs to close this house of horrors and pass fundamental tax reform.