A Tax Cut is an Expense?
Rep. Steny Hoyer once was nominated for “Porker of the Year” by Citizens Against Government Waste* for refusing to acknowledge that Washington has a spending problem and instead asserting, “The country has a paying-for problem. We haven’t paid for what we bought; we haven’t paid for our tax cuts; we haven’t paid for war.” Representative of Maryland’s 5th district since 1981, Steny Hamilton Hoyer is currently second in rank in the House Democratic Leadership behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi. To a career politician with no experience in the private sector (he did some lawyering) tax cuts are an expense that have to be paid for. How do we “pay” for a tax cut? See answer below. *CAGW calls Hoyer “Hostile to Taxpayers” for his votes for waste and extravagance.
Back to the real world and Steny Hoyer’s impact on the country. The spending that hasn’t been paid for will be his legacy: The non-partisan National Taxpayers Union gives him an “F” for every year for over 20 years—this failing grade places him in the “Big Spender” category. He sure knows how to spend but lacks any idea of how to pay for it.
One way to pay for such extravagance is to earn more and one way for a country to earn more is to have a strong vibrant growing economy –just as back in the real world, if you spend you need a job to earn enough to pay for it. Am I right or am I right? The Club for Growth knows that so they urge congress to vote for economy-building bills and against economy killers. Again, Steny disappoints with another failing grade of 8% — a long way from 90 -100% that earns the Club’s appellation “Defender of Economic Freedom.” A growing economy generates tax revenue –and tax cuts pay for themselves as they help stimulate the economy. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan so dramatically and successfully proved that with their tax-cutting policies. Our Poster Children could learn from history if their goal was have to have a free and prosperous society. Unfortunately, their goals are more concerned with reelection and power and, too often, with leftist ideology.
Check out Rep. Hoyer’s record as rated by the conservative Heritage Action Scorecard that covers more bills not just those regarding waste, taxes and growth like the three non-partisan groups cited. Also, check out Americans for Democratic Action for the liberal ratings. At 13% from Heritage Action and 75% from the ADA , Rep. Hoyer confirms his statist bent. Look at his votes and judge for yourself. He never votes against spending or for any limitation on government or for economic freedom/growth and so he is a major reason for the $18 trillion debt being charged to our posterity.
His stands on issues of the day: Against the Second Amendment, for gun control; Pro taxpayer-paid abortion; For raising income taxes; Against deportation of illegals; Supports same-sex marriage. Check the various scorecards for individual votes on these and the other issues.
Term limits on congress would go a long way to eliminating incentives for career pols like Hoyer to continue spending without limit. Now, about 95% of incumbents are reelected with few seats seriously contested. Incumbents have such huge advantages in money from lobbies for special interests and they have name recognition. Those advantages are too daunting in time, effort and expense required for a civic-minded person to offer to represent the interests of the taxpayers for a specified period. It is proven in the states that have limited their legislators’ terms that fresh blood often brings in reps that are successful in business and professions and are not as concerned about reelection as they are about civic duty. Many now come in with experience in the private sector that they can put to use on behalf of their constituents –something few, if any, of our poster children ever have.
