The Have Wannabees

I understand the principle behind the Republican idea that tax increases on the rich might cause them to do less to earn profits. But one thing I don't understand is the idea that tax increases on the rich hurt starting businesses and entreprenuers. Now granted, it could theoretically hurt investment into those companies by rich people. But most small businesses don't start off that way. Sure, they might get a business loan, but most small businesses start off with the money of the business owner and that's it.

And then there's idea that regulations stifle innovation and hurt new ideas. And while they can do that, they can also do the opposite: Prevent big companies from stifling innovation and new ideas. And that's why most folks have no real choice of cable, internet, or home phone providers.

And the reality is that Republican policies are good for people who are already powerful and want to stay that way. But that implictly means that they're crap for anyone else who wants to be that way. Taxing profitable businesses helps struggling businesses. Anti-monopoly regulations help new businesses. That just makes sense.

RedState Blues

But of course, all of this argument is well over the heads of the typical conservative. For them, Republican equals Pro-Business and Democrat equals Anti-Business, and that's all there is to it. Honestly, I've been reading RedState for long enough now to realize that they don't even discuss how this stuff is supposed to work. It's one thing for them to complain about "socialism" and "redistribution of wealth," but they also seem to think that regular small businesses are going to be destroyed by this stuff. Destroyed I tell you.

Yet there's never any actual discussion of this stuff. No policy debate at all, from what I've seen. It's all taken as given that it's going to happen and the only discussion is on how badly Obama is going to screw everyone over. On the one hand, you've got the people who assume that Obama's lying about his tax proposal and think that his tax increase will apply to people making $100k, and on the other side, you've got the people who think the whole thing is out of his hands and that Pelosi and Reid will be the ones dropping the hammer with a scary tax that destroys us all.

But of course, Obama and the Dems will be fools for not working to pass Obama's plan as stated. After all, the main thing he's selling at this point are his policies, and people really seem to like his tax plan in particular. It's a mandate. And so if he doesn't get it to us, but instead gives us some crappy-ass tax policy that he said he wouldn't, then he's screwed. Especially as I think he's got a really good tax proposal, so it'd be dumb to not implement.

Iraq Forevah!

Equally, some people think he won't get us out of Iraq. And that would be such an epic blunder that I can't really see him making a worse mistake. Because Iraq is just such a huge and pointless money drain that it cripples everything else we do unless we get out. And the sooner he starts it, the better, because it will make him look bold, decisive, and honest. We're only staying there because Bush required his PR victory and the only people who will oppose it are the people who already think that Obama is a terrorist, so there's no real downside to it.

Sure, he'll have to prepare people for the ensuing violence that is likely to break-out, but honestly, in the long-term, I think things will work out better this way. It's a domestic and foreign win-win all the way around and he should get on it as soon as possible.

But anyway, I'm not sure exactly where I was going with all this, but think I said enough. Hope you learned something. If not, sorry.