Tax cuts cost money? Huh?

Fact: a cut in taxes has never CREATED a deficit.

Fact: the only possible way to create a deficit is to SPEND more money than you have.

Fact: a tax cut CANNOT cost the taxpayer money.

Fact: if we reduce total tax collections for the entire country to one dollar, it is the responsibility of Congress to not spend two dollars and CREATE a deficit. 

I just wanted to point out these few things as the level of deception about taxes and spending is reaching new highs. I know it’s been said elsewhere, but we have to insist we use the correct terminology here. While technically we are debating extending the Bush tax cuts, realistically we are debating instituting the Obama tax hikes. When you’ve had tax rates in effect for seven to ten years as is the case here, that’s long enough to be considered the standard rates, not temporary. We have a new budget every year. We have a new Congress every two years. Those cuts could have been revised or rescinded years ago if the political will had been there.

It’s the same idiocy logic that is used with unemployment benefits. The left claims that those who receive benefits will spend it and thus boost the economy. Yes and no. Yes, of course they will spend it, they need it just to get by. No, it provides no boost to the economy. Impossible. It’s not new wealth being injected into the economy. These are just transfer payments moving tax revenues from one group of taxpayers to another. They are merely returning the money they received back into the economy. In fact it’s worse than that because we had to increase the debt to provide the benefits. There is no money left, so we had to sell debt to pay for it which must be paid back with interest so the net effect is a loss. Unemployment benefits are welfare pure and simple. We can debate the merits of them, but call them what they are.

The debate on taxes is clear. Tax cuts can only “cost” money when you continue to spend at the same level despite the money not being there. We can’t do it as individuals and neither should government. The left constantly promotes that the rich will cost us $700 billion by extending the Bush tax cuts. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. They are merely having their tax burden REDUCED by $700 billion and they still pay far more of a share than any other class. Again, we can debate the merits of what they will do with their own money returned to them, but stop saying it will “cost” money.