It's that time again. Election time. We just finished with a Republican primary in my home state for the gubernatorial nomination.
Both candidates promised the usual crap - they will cut taxes AND balance the budget.
How? By cutting spending naturally. And of course giving the "job creators" the keys to the store so they can steal us blind and "trickle down" some of their magic to us.
But mostly the promise is to "cut spending".
Not just any spending mind you - but "wasteful spending". The term was even highlighted in one of the candidates ads.
How easy. How conveeeeeeeeeenient. How utterly ridiculous.
"I'm going to cut wasteful spending". It's the easiest promise to make in a campaign. And the most bogus.
Notice they never tell you what constitutes "wasteful" spending. And that's by design, because let's face it, everyone has a different definition of what government spending is "wasteful". One person's waste is another person's necessity and all that.
So the candidate doesn't tell you specifically what they will cut. He or she simply tells you they'll cut wasteful spending and leaves the rest to each voter's imagination. And each voter naturally assumes the candidate means the spending that benefits other, less deserving, people. People, who unlike them, haven't earned the government spending that comes their way.
So, the candidate gets to sound resolute and like a tough budget hawk. And not one specific promise has been made. Zero courage is required to come out against "wasteful spending". Courage would come from defining it - during a campaign.
Both candidates promised the usual crap - they will cut taxes AND balance the budget.
How? By cutting spending naturally. And of course giving the "job creators" the keys to the store so they can steal us blind and "trickle down" some of their magic to us.
But mostly the promise is to "cut spending".
Not just any spending mind you - but "wasteful spending". The term was even highlighted in one of the candidates ads.
How easy. How conveeeeeeeeeenient. How utterly ridiculous.
"I'm going to cut wasteful spending". It's the easiest promise to make in a campaign. And the most bogus.
Notice they never tell you what constitutes "wasteful" spending. And that's by design, because let's face it, everyone has a different definition of what government spending is "wasteful". One person's waste is another person's necessity and all that.
So the candidate doesn't tell you specifically what they will cut. He or she simply tells you they'll cut wasteful spending and leaves the rest to each voter's imagination. And each voter naturally assumes the candidate means the spending that benefits other, less deserving, people. People, who unlike them, haven't earned the government spending that comes their way.
So, the candidate gets to sound resolute and like a tough budget hawk. And not one specific promise has been made. Zero courage is required to come out against "wasteful spending". Courage would come from defining it - during a campaign.
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