Sean and I have been disagreeing about where Democrats want to take our country in the long run. My argument is that they will not be satisfied until they make us like a Northern European Social Democracy and he disagrees.
Below is an OECD Data Comparison Graph - Spend vs GDP You click on it to make it bigger or hit the link. Here are the values for the countries I pointed to... USA: 37.6%, Germany: 43.8%, Sweden: 49.6%. Please remember that if we "socialized healthcare", we may be at Germany's spend percentage.
My belief is that as Democrats accomplish their "reasonable" goals, they will just move the goal posts further Left like they have been doing for 50+ years. I think of them as a boat tied to a dock, and the GOP is the rope. The GOP gave a gave for decades, however now the rope is tight a strongly resisting further motion. And for historical reference.
And when the Conservatives push back even harder against the "newest goals", the DEMs will complain that the Conservatives are irrational and extreme!!! (sound familiar?) When in reality it will have been the DEMS moving relative to the fixed datum of Spend / GDP... Thoughts?
Below is an OECD Data Comparison Graph - Spend vs GDP You click on it to make it bigger or hit the link. Here are the values for the countries I pointed to... USA: 37.6%, Germany: 43.8%, Sweden: 49.6%. Please remember that if we "socialized healthcare", we may be at Germany's spend percentage.
And when the Conservatives push back even harder against the "newest goals", the DEMs will complain that the Conservatives are irrational and extreme!!! (sound familiar?) When in reality it will have been the DEMS moving relative to the fixed datum of Spend / GDP... Thoughts?
14 comments:
Republicans and Democrats agree that Medicare is a good program. If we spend more on Medicare because of demographic changes, did government expand?
"I think of them as a boat tied to a dock, and the GOP is the rope."
Your thinking is defective. It is today's GOP that are the wanton spenders.
Like it or not, the Democrats paid for the ACA. Bush expanded Medicare without a dime of dedicated funding and created an unfunded mandate larger than Social Security over the next 75 years. It's Republicans who are blowing up the sequester. It's Republicans who are going to add $1.5T to the deficit over the next decade with their tax cuts for large corporations.
You've deluded yourself into believing there's this version of the Republican Party that doesn't exist in the real world.
I have no delusions... The "Conservatives" seem to be a bunch of selfish people who are willing to steal from their own children.
They want low taxes, but don't have the spine to make the necessary cuts / improvements in government effectiveness.
Of course I blame us voters for the problems on both sides...
"Many of us want low taxes and high benefits / services."
Remember how agitated Jerry gets when I talk about means testing SS and Medicare as a budget solution...
It seems most of us are happy to have our cake and eat someone else's too. :-)
It seems most of us are happy to have our cake and eat someone else's too. :-)
Remember how the Liberals love Medicaid and ACA because they are paid for by a very small percentage of the population.
Now would they love it so much if it was their money going to other unsuccessful citizens. I kind of think not, at least based on how low charitable giving is in the USA.
I ran across this piece earlier while looking for a source. It seems relative to this topic.
Heritage False Compassion of Liberals
One of my FB Relatives posted a "Why Norway is so Happy Video"? Something like this
Maybe it is because they have such strict immigration preparation and screening rules?
Though at 16.8% immigrants they do have a similar percentage to the USA.
Wiki Norway Immigration
Wiki USA Immigration
"I have no delusions."
Scroll up to the top of the page. You describe the GOP as the "rope" that's preventing runaway spending, despite the decades of evidence to the contrary.
You keep pretending the GOP is the party of their rhetoric, instead of looking at their actions.
I agree that they are definitely a very stretchy rope, but at least they talk about controlling government spending and taxes...
Whereas the DEMs don't even discuss it. They just launch new programs and services and raise the taxes. (ie ACA)
That's a hell of a lot better than spending the money and not paying for it! (And, of course, as we've discussed here on multiple occasions, the actual amount of new spending under Clinton and Obama was *lower* than under Republican administrations. Do you read your own blog?)
But, then again, the lesson we've all learned is that when a Republican is President, deficits don't matter.
Sean,
I am not sure that is better. At least when incurring deficits, debt and trust fund pending disasters, people talk about spending.
If the DEMS had their way we would just keep raising taxes and moving Left thinking that we do not have a spending problem.
As for the Clinton and Obama presidencies spending increase being less. I think that was because the GOP Congress constrained them very tightly. Remember the Gingrich and Boehner obstruction, shutdowns, etc.
I do agree with your final sentence!!!
Remember in 2009-2010 when the deficit was a crisis that swept all the Tea Partiers into office? How many of those clowns voted for the tax bill and are going to vote for hundreds of billions in new spending?
It will be interesting to see, however there are apparently a few who are saying NO to the madness. That is why the bill's passage is so reliant on the DEMs.
CNN GOP Hyopcrites
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