Thursday, October 02, 2008

Patriotism, taxes, and the conventional wisdom

This recent exchange between Joe Biden and ABC News' Kate Snow has been pointed to by the media as an example of a Biden gaffe. Can ANYONE explain to me why this is a gaffe?

Snow: "Anyone making over $250,000..."

Biden: "Is going to pay more. You got it. Its time to be patriotic, Kate. Time to jump in. Time to be part of the deal. Time to help get America out of the rut. And the way to do that is - they're still going to pay less taxes than they paid under Reagan."


I'm with Biden! All the way, man. Why is it that we CANNOT seem to accept sacrifice? Isn't this what got us into our financial crisis? An expectation of entitlement? We deserve to have a bigger house, a better vacation, cheaper goods, and not pay ANY more in taxes during an incredibly expensive war. This notion seems to be a political standard: Americans do not need to give more. Do actual Americans really feel this way?

Do YOU feel that way? And, by the way, are you sure you AREN'T giving more?

Biden is talking about wealthier Americans (do you make over $250,000 year? I actually don't have a single friend who does.) getting fewer tax write-offs, thereby increasing the nation's income. Are you going to tell me that families with McMansions and Escalades can't afford to chip in to the cause? The America I grew up admiring expected its wealthy members to step up during tough times. That's who we were supposed to be.

We can't help the largely middle-class Americans who are in trouble with mortgages and debt. After all, they made uninformed, impulsive decisions, making bad investments, ignoring what the long term consequences would be so that they could get the best deals for right now. We have a moral obligation to let them face the consequences. Now, where did I put that Bailout Bill?

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