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Why Conservatives Shouldn't 'Tax the Poor'

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, Iii

November 22, 2011

Yesterday I posted a few items on Twitter endorsing Ramesh Ponnuru's argument that conservative concerns about people not paying income taxes are overblown.

Some of the responses I received are themselves worth responding to. Many conservatives are fixated on the the 47 percent of Americans (probably closer to 46 percent this year) who don't pay income tax. To the extent that this is a rhetorical point against liberal arguments that the rich are undertaxed, it is worthwhile. I can also understand concerns about people voting for big government without paying for it, though one can be a net beneficiary of federal spending even if they pay some amount of income taxes.

Republicans and Overspending, Con'td

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, Iii

November 16, 2011

There's one other way in which the narrative about Republicans and overspending, disputed by Ramesh Ponnuru, contains an element of truth.

A version of it is even endorsed by Barack Obama: "In the year 2000, the government had a budget surplus. But instead of using it to pay off our debt, the money was spent on trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, while two wars and an expensive prescription drug program were simply added to our nation's credit card." Now, most conservatives supported the tax cuts and the wars. Obama supported one of the two wars and a prescription drug benefit that was, if anything, more expensive than the one George W. Bush signed into law.

Do We Even Have A Written Constitution?

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, Iii

November 14, 2011

That is really the fundamental question at stake in the Obamacare case.

Many countries are governed by unwritten constitutions, a patchwork of court decisions, legal and political precedents, laws, and customs that shape the boundaries of government rather than any single document. Over the past eighty years, the United States has increasingly moved to that system as well. But even the post-New Deal, post-World War II consensus has always tried to appeal to our written Constitution for authority, which its champions have pretended to revere as a living document.

Judges Clash with Voters on Mandate

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, Iii

November 14, 2011

A death panel for limited government, brought to you by the living Constitution.

Last week, two-thirds of Ohioans voted against letting the government force people to buy health insurance. The measure passed by a greater margin than the collective bargaining initiative, which grabbed most of the headlines, failed. Ohio's state constitution now rejects the individual mandate central to both the president's federal health care program and the Massachusetts law on which it was partially based.

Ron Paul Budget Contains $1 Trillion in Specific Cuts

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, Iii

October 17, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will unveil his plan to balance the budget today in Las Vegas, including $1 trillion in spending cuts.

Putting Straw Men Back to Work

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, III

September 9, 2011

If non sequiturs could create jobs, an economic boom would soon be upon us.

Trying to sell Congress on his jobs agenda before the NFL season's opening kickoff, President Obama uncorked a combative stemwinder filled with odd inferences and false choices. "Sell" might be an inapt word. The president repeatedly demanded that Congress heed his will on the grandly named American Jobs Act: "You should pass it right away." In this Capitol Hill campaign rally, Obama rather transparently dared Republicans to reject his proposal so he can run against them as a "Do Nothing Congress" next year.

Ron Paul and Ronald Reagan

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, III

September 7, 2011

It's fair to note that Paul also ran against the Republican ticket that year as a Libertarian.

But Paul ran to the elder George Bush's right, lamenting that the Reagan Revolution was unfulfilled on federal spending and the budget deficit. Gore ran to Bush's left, pledging to reverse the Reagan Revolution. Perry would probably protest that Gore ran to the right of Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis.

Obama's in Worse Shape Than Bush

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, III

September 7, 2011

After weeks of dipping numbers, two new polls spell trouble for Barack Obama​.

A Washington Post/ABC News survey shows the president in decline even among his core 2008 supporters. Obama's approval rating among his 2008 voters is down to 79 percent, and on the economy it is all the way down to 70 percent. Just 69 percent of liberals approve of his performance in office, as do only 47 percent of voters between the ages of 18 to 29.

Discretion Is Advised

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, III

August 29, 2011

Speaking to the National Council of La Raza in July, President Obama told his restive audience that he was bound to enforce the country's immigration laws and couldn't change them without congressional approval.

La Raza apparently changed the president's mind, because according to an August 18 letter from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, yes he did. Napolitano informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 21 other senators that DHS was focused on removing only illegal immigrants who were violent criminals, convicted felons, or repeat violators. Additionally, the administration will individually review the cases of over 300,000 illegal immigrants already in deportation proceedings to make sure that they are in line with the new enforcement priorities.

Downgrading the Constitution

The American Spectator

by W. James Antle, III

August 10, 2011

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner dinged Standard & Poor's for "terrible judgment" in downgrading the federal government's credit rating.

Less genteel liberals offered less flattering assesments. "[I]t's hard to think of anyone less qualified to pass judgment on America than the rating agencies," opined Paul Krugman. "The people who rated subprime-backed securities are now declaring that they are the judges of fiscal policy?"

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