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Why Are Republicans Willing to Help Obama Make America More Like Europe?

Nov. 30, 2012 2:22pm

Daniel J. Mitchell is a top expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy at the Cato Institute. Mitchell is a strong advocate of a flat tax and […]

Daniel J. Mitchell is a top expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy at the Cato Institute. Mitchell is a strong advocate of a flat tax and international tax competition. Prior to joining Cato, Mitchell was a senior fellow with The Heritage Foundation, and an economist for Senator Bob Packwood and the Senate Finance Committee. He also served on the 1988 Bush/Quayle transition team and was Director of Tax and Budget Policy for Citizens for a Sound Economy. His articles can be found in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, and Washington Times. He is a frequent guest on radio and television and a popular speaker on the lecture circuit. Mitchell holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.

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dmitchell@cato.org

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Washington frustrates me. The entire town is based on legalized corruption as an unworthy elite figure out new ways of accumulating unearned wealth by skimming money from the nation’s producers.

But one thing that especially irks me is the way people focus on the trees and forget about the forest. Politicians and journalists are now engaged in an inside-baseball game of analyzing every twist and turn of the fiscal cliff negotiations.

That’s all fine and well, but perhaps it would be a good idea to talk about the need to fix the real crisis of excessive spending instead of arguing about how fast we should be traveling in the wrong direction.

And let’s not delude ourselves. In the absence of real entitlement reform, the United States is doomed to repeat Europe’s mistakes.

And how are things going in Europe? Well, I’m glad you ask. Let’s look at some excerpts from an Associated Press report:

Another month, another record unemployment rate for the economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. Figures released Friday by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, showed that the recession in the eurozone pushed unemployment up in the currency bloc to 11.7 percent in October, the highest level since the introduction of the euro in 1999. …Eurostat found that 18.7 million people were out of work across the eurozone, an increase of 173,000 on the previous month and 2.2 million higher than the year before. The wider 27-nation EU that includes non-euro countries such as Britain and Poland had an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent in October and a total of 25.9 million out of work. …”Talk of a `lost generation’ of young people now looks like an alarming possibility,” said Andrea Broughton, principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies.

In other words, we may complain about America’s miserable track record on jobs during the Obama years, but at some point in the future we may someday look back on 8 percent unemployment as good news.

Unfortunately, the crowd in Washington doesn’t want to acknowledge that the real problem is spending. And I’m particularly irked (but not surprised) that Republicans now seem willing to go along with Obama even though they won this fight back in 2010 when they didn’t control the House and had fewer seats in the Senate. Here’s what I said to one of the local DC stations.

I realize I’m sounding glum, so let’s close out this post with a couple of amusing cartoons about America’s European future.

I’ve already shared the “European Lemming” cartoon. This one has the same theme.

Mitchell: Why Are Republicans Willing to Help Obama Make America More Like Europe?

(Cartoon: Eric Allie)

If you still haven’t cheered up, this bit of Dave Barry humor about the European fiscal crisis is a classic, and I’d also recommend this bit of unintentional satire.

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Comments (17)

CrazyChicken
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:19pm
I think our country has lost it’s soul, bottom line, we will all pay for our sins!…I’m making plans to get out, sort of like the smart Jews did in Germany before the SHTF. They saw the writing on the wall. There are other countries that do not have plans against their citizens, plans to deploy drones, plan to suppress their freedoms or religions. I moved here in the 60′s from a SE Asian country. That country is more conservative than we have become. There I won’t have to worry about drones, I can still own a gun, and I can still worship my God. To hell with America!

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Max jones
Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:55pm
Our leaders are clueless as to the actual state affairs we are laboring through, and will stay that way. A spirit of slumber has been cast upon them (and most of the world). Why, you may ask? To reveal, once and for all time, just who really IS in control of the situation, and who is a pretender to the throne.
You will, sooner or later. have a distinct and unassailable understanding of the contrast between the two sides of the coin. Until then, you filthy dreamers, keep on dreaming. You holy men, stay holy. It won’t be too long.

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JeffMT
Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:24am
The root of the problem is the inability of our so-called leaders to say one simple word: “No”. That’s it, just say ‘no’.

But we have no leadership so we never hear ‘no’. So, we are broke as a country and Europe is broke and etc. Only when we hit absolute rock bottom is this going to change and since Americans are such slow learners, I would guess it will take at least two generations, or about 40 years, for this country to turn itself around.

Around 2050 maybe things will be back on track. I’ll be long gone by then, in all likelihood, so I won’t be around to see it but today’s youth will be, if they ever wake up and see what is being done to them and their futures.

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- Max jones
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:08pm
  Globalism can’t go “forward” until all other options fail. They all will. eventually. All in D.C. are under the globalist spell, and are approaching a point of no return. You can’t break into a house, easily, when the homeowner is able to defend himself. They will break us down by making it impossible to defend ourselves, economically, then sit back and play us against each other so we have to contend for the necessities.
  
  Report this comment
kadster01
Posted on December 1, 2012 at 9:39pm
Why?! As Foghorn Leghorn says, “I keep pitching ‘em and you keep missin’ ‘em!” We have one political party – that’s right…ONE – with a split personality. One side is a thug and a criminal. The other is a spineless *****.

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- kadster01
  Posted on December 1, 2012 at 9:52pm
  Oh, the word that was censored kinda loses it’s effect altogether when one can’t tell what it is. I could use the same word on whomever designed the software that does the censoring. The magic word is p_s$y
  
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- Max jones
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 11:01pm
  Both “sides” are being what they are…that’s all. All of ‘em are operating under a fog of FEAR. Fear of the unknown. This is the common factor in all they do. That is the most prevalent common condition in the world.
  
  Report this comment
LTC_Barber
Posted on December 1, 2012 at 5:42pm
GOD has everything to do with it. This country was founded based on GOD. If Congress and the President would use this simple line – GOD, COUNTRY, SELF. The would not be a Fiscal Cliff
http://www.youtube.com/oldblackguyondaright

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- grammabanana
  Posted on December 1, 2012 at 6:12pm
  well said!
  
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- kingclovis
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 6:04am
  Uhhh i hate to say this (or love it does not matter) but that would not solve anything. If you think it does, then you are useless to the country as no imaginary space daddy is going to help you with your fiscal cliff.
  
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- Max jones
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:32pm
  KINGCLOVIS…..”Space daddy” is the creator of all. is a conscious, intelligent, being with his hand on the controls. YHVH even knows your mind. Nothing happens without His direction. People who know this,also, know that all is well and events unfold at His pleasure, no matter what ‘man’ thinks he controls.The plan and its execution can be followed in the scripture.
  We ARE at war, and will be from here on out. that is the plan and that is the reality of our condition.
  I think you are doing the right thing…staying, purposely ignorant of the truth, that is….you can’t handle the truth. For your own safety, stay on the sidelines as long as you are able. We both know you were not prepared for what is being shown, now.
  Stay calm. You will only be held responsible for what you comprehend.
  
  Report this comment
grammabanana
Posted on December 1, 2012 at 7:22am
The whole mess cannot be comprehended unless it is seen through spiritual lenses. There are really only two powers that are at work, the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of the anti-christ. Those who have not had their understanding awakened through the redemptive power of Christ, will find themselves believing lies and actually thinking they are making the world a better place by bringing in the new world order. It is all about power and control, and destruction, when it comes to the spirit of the anti-christ. There is no reasoning with those who are deluded.

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- Max jones
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:36pm
  “For this cause will God send upon them a great delusion, that they should believe a lie….”
  The ’cause’ is to get the left exposed for what they are; murderous anti-Christians.
  Somehow, these people are going to get organized, and really start to believe the great evils in their undisciplined lives, are actually caused by Christians…..like homosexuality would magically not be deviant if Christian people would not point out that God, himself, called it an abomination….or that abortion would not be murder if Christians would not maintain conception as the start of human beings. I did not say these people are deluded, God does, and takes responsibility for it.
  There was no written law, when Cain slew Abel, but the Lord called it murder, nonetheless. Cain ‘spiritually’ knew it was wrong. Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun. Human nature and the nature of God have NOT changed. Not one jot.
  
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- Winedude
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 11:22am
  “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
  Then he is not omnipotent.
  Is he able, but not willing?
  Then he is malevolent.
  Is he both able and willing?
  Then whence cometh evil?
  Is he neither able nor willing?
  Then why call him God?” Epicurus
  
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LeadNotFollow
Posted on December 1, 2012 at 2:04am
.
“Why Are Republicans Willing to Help Obama Make America More Like Europe?”
Because Republicans have thrown GOD under the bus!

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- kingclovis
  Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:11am
  So what does GOD have to do with this at all?
  
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- Max jones
  Posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:44pm
  KINGCLOVIS…..For you, son, God has nothing to do with anything. The blessings are available only to those who ‘avail’ themselves of them. Knock and it will be opened unto you, ask and ye shall receive. Or in your case….just fuggit about it!!
  
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