GOP nonsense

I watched the somewhat tortuous Republican presidential debate/press conference on CNN last week hoping to hear some new ideas, something different.

But all I heard was the same tired supply-side trickle-down nonsense that has only been good for hurting the middle class and inflating the gap between the rich and the middle class.

All of the candidates said we need tax cuts, no regulations and spending reductions — the exact thing President George W. Bush brought to the country, save the cuts, 10 years ago.

There were no original thoughts. It was all about privatizing everything and hoping for the benevolence of the free market. Nothing was said that has or will produce any tangible, long-lasting, positive effects.

President Ronald Reagan tried to trickle down and ultimately started the structural deficits we are dealing with today. He ended up having to raise revenue. The Bush economy we are enjoying today was built on tax cuts and deregulation. A significant portion of our current deficit can be directly attributed to the tax rates set by the Bush administration. The result: a financial meltdown, a punished middle class and amazing wealth disparity.

Our tax rate today is lower than it has been in 60 years. How low can we go and still achieve results?

If we are to successfully deal with our financial issues, we must take better care of our working class, find the best way to raise revenues and spend what we have more effectively investing in our future.

What I saw during the debate was just more partisan, negative ideology that simply hasn’t worked.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

By that definition, what we heard from the GOP presidential hopefuls was insanity.

Larry Kinard, Woodway

Text ban bill vetoed

Gov. Rick Perry on Friday vetoed a bill that would have banned texting by all drivers. He called it over-reaching and an effort by government to micromanage the behavior of adults. 

Really? What about the seat belt law?

If I don’t buckle up and pay with my life for being so inattentive to safety, who’s hurt by that?

Me and nobody else.

Yet the state requires that I buckle up to protect me from myself. It’s a good law, but does it not micromanage our lives?

Is it OK for me to run over someone and kill them while I am busy texting? Apparently, Perry thinks it’s a good trade-off, because he doesn’t want the state micromanaging our behavior.

Surely the governor is not that obtuse.

Joe Walker, Lorena

Poetic justice

I could not help but chuckle when I read in the paper Monday that the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association lost its tax-exempt status because it did not comply with a recent new filing requirement [“IRS strips 179 groups of tax status”].

If even the lawyers in town can’t figure out what new regulations and laws apply to their own organization, how can small businesses be expected to do so?

Maybe it is time we sent fewer lawyers to represent us in Washington and in Austin.

Benedicte Bosche, Waco