January
2007
I used to be a fiscal conservative when it meant something
Call me a tight-wad liberal if you need to throw a label on me.
I always used to think of myself as a fiscal conservative but that definition has changed. Now if you're a conservative, it means you're a thief. For a generation, fiscal conservatism has been usurped by the Republicans to mean you can borrow as much as you want and the next generation will have to pay the bill.
I was always taught that when you take something that isn't yours it's called stealing. Since fiscally conservative policies mean that the next generation will have to pay for benefits now, it means that fiscal conservatism is the same as theft. Should our children have to pay for benefits we are getting? No. The concept that it's ok to steal from your children just grates on me.
Ronald Reagan deserves the credit for changing the entire definition of fiscal conservatism. Under Reagan, our nation started to build up the largest deficit ever. Borrow and spend. Borrow and spend. That became the mantra of Republicans and yet somehow they still were able to call themselves "fiscal conservatives". It defied reason but then again, it was an era when "heroin sheik" was supposed to be a sexy look and I was just grossed out by the junkie appearances of models of the day.
It seemed that we were never going to get on top of those deficits and then President Bill Clinton, who the Republicans tried to label as a "liberal", came along and wiped out the largest debt in our nations history.
President George W. Bush continued the legacy of Ronald Reagan by borrowing way more than was coming in and today we have an even larger national debt than we had under Reagan. Perhaps it's his homage' to the man Republicans like to call "the great communicator".
Locally, Republicans call Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker a fiscal conservative and I guess he is by the newly structured definition. He's probably borrowed more money just to run day to day operations than any other County Exec in Milwaukee County history.
So don't call me a fiscal conservative anymore. Stealing from children… well that's just wrong.
Jim McGuigan
Jim McGuigan, Watchdogging Economics
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In my view this is exactly why the Republican Party has lost its way. The Party has been hijacked by a “whacko crowd” whose prioities seem to be spending money like it’s going out of style and poking their nose into everyone’s private affairs.
Traditional Republican values include fiscal conservatism and leaving the people to live their lives without government interference.
You Tight-Wad Liberal:
A lot of what you say is true: look at the way the Republican congress in Washington behaved. They created endless new spending projects like the perscription drug benefit for seniors. Also during this era of Republican control ear-marks and pork barrel projects mushroomed. This doesn’t even take into consideration the spending on the war–which should have been a real cause for belt tightening. Surely this is part of the reason the people slapped the Republicans down.
All of that is true, but Bill Clinton didn’t wipe out the deficit during the 90’s, business did. Because the economy was strong, unemployment was low and businesses made stacks of money and paid huge taxes. Milwaukee County aside, government tax recipts are up and Bush is very likely to make good on promises to reduce the deficit despite big-spending Republicans. This is a testament to the industriousness of Americans and the power of tax cuts.
Like you, I worry about the burden of barrowing on future generations, but the real problem is that high taxes will drive business out of Milwaukee and Wisconsin and America. The one thing Pelossi has right is her pay-go policy, and I hope she sticks with it. All Dems have to do to retain control is follow this and hold the tax cuts in place. Even I’d vote for them then.