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Any policy that tries to straddle the wide chasm between Republican and Democrat economic doctrine is bound to collapse into the abyss

Poles apart



The debt ceiling tug of war is unlikely to be satisfactorily resolved. The reason is that Republicans and Democrats have divergent views of the private economy, and that difference will always prevent compromise. Both parties understand that the private economy is the source of all wealth. Republicans take this position openly; Democrats will never admit it in public. Democrats justify massive government spending by calling it "stimulus," "job creation," or "investment," but they know that all the money government spends comes from the private sector. The government does not create wealth–it can only consume it.

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The chief difference between the two parties is in their views of the private sector. Republicans understand that while the private sector is a powerful engine for creating wealth, providing jobs, and encouraging investment, it is paradoxically quite fragile. Like the towering redwood trees with their shallow root system, the private sector is vulnerable to seemingly minor trauma. Excessive regulation, oppressive taxation, selective bureaucratic penalties and restrictions all have deleterious effects on the private sector. Republicans understand that the responsibility of the government in this country is to enable the private sector to operate efficiently. The more the government interferes in the free market, the less free it becomes, and the less likely it is to create the wealth that government feeds upon. Democrats take the private sector for granted. They believe that if more revenue is needed, it can be highly taxed. If social engineering is required, it can be strictly regulated. If products or services conflict with official policy, it can be sanctioned, targeted, or even nationalized. Democrats believe that no matter how much they punish the private sector, it will remain robust, continue to grow and create wealth. The two and a half years of the Obama administration has clearly shown that the Democrat view is wrong. Profligate government spending has produced rising unemployment, plummeting home values, shrinking or fleeing industry, a devalued currency and record public debt and deficits. Further, the taxation and regulation policies cripple our industries. Domestic energy production, manufacturing in all sectors, overall job creation and industrial investment have all suffered substantially from the adversarial relationship this regime has with the private sector. This divergence of views did not begin with Obama, but it has reached its most severe manifestation under this president. This administration has spent irresponsibly; taken over banks, automobile companies, and the entire health care system; monetized our towering debt; and crippled our economy. Now, the only route back to fiscal solvency requires a reversal of all these policies. The trouble is, Democrats don’t believe they’re doing any harm. The party that fervently believes that every exhalation from any animal on earth is a contribution to global climate change refuses to believe that government policy has any effect on private industry. The president who believes he can turn back the rising oceans and purify the air with a few well-chosen mandates will not admit that taxes, regulations, and government interference has any effect on economic output. Supporters of Obama who believed he could unite the nations of the world and usher in global peace shut their eyes to the real and permanent damage he has done to American companies large and small. Whatever response to the debt crisis is eventually devised, it will not be effective as long as it tries to please both sides in this argument. Any policy that tries to straddle the wide chasm between Republican and Democrat economic doctrine is bound to collapse into the abyss.


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Lance Thompson -- Bio and Archives

Lance Thompson is a freelance journalist.


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