I have the unfortunate pleasure of working in an office which is comprised of mostly liberal democrats, as such I hear first hand their off the wall, sometimes borderline insane opinions. When speaking about Republicans, wether they be moderates or far right conservatives, the same phrases always follow the inevitable finger pointing.. “they should have” or “they should not have”. In the event of a tragedy, wether it be due to natural causes, or failure in a manmade structure, the response in how the tragedy could have been avoided is simple. Money!

Those on the far left have strayed so far off course from the reality of what America is, and should be, they have forgotten the principles which made us a world power to begin with. The ideas of hard work, and self reliance have begun to fade away, being replaced by dependence on the government for our well being. Those dependency issues only heighten when a tragedy occurs, and inevitably the cries for bigger government are heard from the left.

The recent collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis is no exception to that rule. Almost immediately following the news of the collapsed bridge, liberals jumped at the chance to use innocent deaths to demand a bigger government. Those lovable loons at the Daily Kos had this to say:

A tragedy courtesy of politicians who, in their own ways, follow Grover Norquist’s dictum of reducing government until it’s small enough to drown in the bathtub. And of passing out massive tax cuts, mostly to people who need them least.

The Star Tribune echoed that theology:

For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It’s been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase - the first in 20 years - last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, it would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government.

I doubt anyone would disagree with that last statement, one of the basic duties of the government is our nations infrastructure. When a bridge collapses it is undoubtedly caused by the negligence or sheer incompetence of the government to take preventative measures, and to that extent I am in agreement with liberals. Where my philosophy makes a sharp right turn from those at the Daily Kos and other liberal hangouts, is I do not believe these failures in government have anything to do with taxes being too low.

Neal Boortz has an excellent article today outlining the true failures, and I’ll give you a hint, it has nothing to do with low taxes:

At the time when Governor Pawlenty vetoed this 5-cent gas tax increase, the state of Minnesota already had a $2.1 billion budget surplus. This surplus came from over-taxation.

He then details some of the “pork projects” which Minnesota felt deserved funds rather than fixing their infrastructure:

• The state bailout of the Minneapolis Teacher’s Retirement Fund, which puts state taxpayers on the hook for $972 million in unfunded liabilities
• $34 million in subsidies to ethanol producers that have seen a 300 percent increase in profits in the last year
• $30 million for bear exhibits at the Minnesota and Como Zoos
• $1 million for a replica Vikings ship in Moorhead

It is a wonder how liberals can attempt to blame low tax rates as the cause for the bridges failure, when the State is running a budget surplus!

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Politics, Taxes