Bad news Democrats - 2012 could be worse than 2010

My hope is that Republicans take a cold hard look at the facts and realize that blocking everything for two years isn't going to fly. No matter how much you "stick to your principles," we need to make some progress on a wide variety of issues.

I hope they take a page from the Republicans of the mid-90's and go after a major program that's really due for an overhaul much like welfare was back then. The obvious one is tax law. There are lots and lots of ways to simplify our existing tax code that are completely revenue neutral and don't drastically alter upper, middle and lower classes overall tax obligations.

As a small business owner, I spend thousands of dollars every year and way too many hours of my time trying to comply with tax law. Not to mention the nightmare of my personal taxes. It's such a massive drain on our economy.

I just want to see both parties not make some Big Ideological Stand about supply side economics or income redistribution or whatever, and just fucking simplify it. Or go with a sales tax and close up much of the IRS. Or whatever. Just make it so I pay right about what I do now in taxes, but only fill out 3 pages of forms (that I can do myself) instead of 100 that I have to hire accountants to organize for me.

 

Damn. 18 inches of paper. I thought I had it bad, but mine's "only" about 2 or 3 inches. Still more than I care to even try to understand.

I bet if I took my records to three different accountants they'd come up with three drastically different numbers that I owe/will get in return. And all of them would be technically correct. Just enrages me.

I'm actually so fed up over this that I'd probably vote for a Republican president if he/she wasn't a Sarah Palin-esque airhead and could deliver on drastically simplifying the tax code.

 

What if the GOP House passs legislation, and the Dems in the Senate block it? Or what if the GOP House passes legislation, the Dem Senate passes it because they fear another asskicking in 2012, and then Obama vetoes it?

Then who is blocking legislation? There is no GOP "blocking" in the House once the new House is sworn into leadership. That excuse is over.

 

I don't think it's really an issue for either party. They are both so entrenched in ruts about supply side economics and tax breaks for every pet project that neither sees the forest for the trees.

Not everything has to be a battle to the death. Sometimes there are things that everybody can agree on, so we should just fucking do them. Practically every American thinks our tax code could be drastically simplified. So get on with it.

To me it seems a more natural platform for the Republican party than the Democrats. They could easily peddle tax simplification as a stimulus program, because it truly would be. It'd free a lot of Americans to go out and spend their time and money on doing things of real value for our economy. And if done properly it wouldn't add a penny to our deficit. In fact it could decrease it by simplifying the regulation and enforcement of tax law.

 

That's a valid point. I should've phrased it differently. My hope is that Republicans and Democrats both take a cold hard look at the facts and realize that coming up with a bunch of shit that'll never pass for two years isn't going to fly.

There are just too many fucked up things with this country to consider gridlock "victory."