Beware the Puppet Masters

One day not long enough ago, I got an e-mail from someone; dressed up like Benedict Arnold, purporting to be Patrick Henry and the Tea Party. Remembering the Tea Party dumped tea in Boston Harbor before the Revolutionary War in 1776, I thought this was probably not him. Then I remembered that politics is often about money and looked for the Puppet Master of the Tea Party and found three: Rupert Murdock of Fox & News Corp and the Koch brothers of Koch Industries, the wealthiest private company in the United States.

Now, go back and remember that Barack Obama promised to undo the Bush tax cuts that give $1 billion dollars to the upper 2% of America’s income bracket over 10 years. The other 98% of us share $3 billion dollars over 10 years. I wonder how much one of the 400 billionaires in America would give to maintain a potential $100-million-dollar tax break on a 10-year return. The answer may be $100 million dollars this year by Mr. Murdock and the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers are worth at least $35 billion dollars and have paid multiple environmental related fines in the past. One brother ran as a Vice-Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1980 because Ronald Regan was not conservative enough for him. He gives the most. In fact, the Puppet Masters had given 91% of Republican funds to Karl Rove’s political action group that operates outside regular and regulated Republican coffers at last accounting.

Taxed enough already sounds good those that that are most ideologically overtaxed; but what about those that care about local issues and local control over their daily lives? Do they not give fire and police protection because they are “taxed enough already”? Do sewer treatment plants get repaired by themselves? Are roads built and bridges repaired by men; in triangular-shaped hats, who had not even determined what the Declaration of Independence would say, much less the Constitution? That, in its Preamble, it talks about providing the general welfare of the United States, and its posterity?

No, this was a rebellion against taxes to pay for the war between England and France. But these Tea Party people seem to want to be taxed for war, but not for peace. Therein is the problem.

We need a modern-day FDR to cure financial problems worse than any time since the Great Depression, not men in funny hats and Puppet Masters screaming about taxes and likely to cut our Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and raise retirement age for the 98% that the Puppet Masters are not part of. Their same old sad song was proven wrong once before in the 1930’s.

Men in funny hats did nothing to create Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment benefits. A study concluded that, of thirteen ways to create jobs and grow the economy, tax breaks for the upper 2% was thirteenth and dead last. If you get a check for $100 million dollars, why risk it? Just put it in the bank. That is what the Puppet Masters really want. Don’t let their joke be at your expense this Election Day 2010.

-Tom Love