We all know EXACTLY what the politicians mean when they decide to "upscale" their demands. From Best of the Web:
Dear Constituents, Please Send Money. Love, Gov.
A New York Times editorial notes that many states are facing insolvency and, predictably, argues that the answer is to burden their citizens with higher taxes:
Too many newly elected governors have vowed not to raise taxes–including, unfortunately, Andrew Cuomo of New York–fearing giving bad news to voters who have not yet been told how dire things really are. Dan Malloy, the incoming Democratic governor of Connecticut, is one of the few who have been honest with their constituents, saying neither cuts nor tax increases alone can deal with his state’s $3.5 billion shortfall, one of the largest, proportionally, in the nation. "This is a time when people have to be on notice that they’ll be requested to participate in shared sacrifice," he said recently.
Yeah, phrasing it that way ("requested") makes it sound so darn cozy, so friendly, so nice! Makes you feel, like gee, "They really mean it- they’re ASKING! That means I can say No, right"? Sure, you can say no, but do you really have a ghost of a chance of being taken seriously?
Such cover – this is the Political Class trying to pawn off their responsibility of screwing up "responsibly spending your tax dollars". They have absolutely no intention of admitting that they’ve been like drunken frat brothers who got the Dean’s Black Amex card and bought everything they could think of.
"Shared sacrifice" – once again, we’ll see the effects of "shared sacrifice" among the taxpayers but hardly will see the "shared responsibility" of the Political Class of sitting in what should be their very own drunk tank drying out from their binge with our money. Any time you see "shared" and "political leader" in the same sentence, you can be sure of only one thing – that "share" was never a word that politicians learned in kindergarten.
I’ll believe in "shared responsibility" when we’re able to sue for fiscal mismanagement on the part of the State. Why not? Govt sues private sector entities all the time for malfeasance – why shouldn’t we have the same privilege? After all, they work for us, right?
Er, right? Oh yeah, I don’t know my "place", do I….
