Conservatives and tax cuts. It’s like an obsession with these people. Whenever there is extra money collected from taxes the conservatives can’t wait to reduce taxes and give it all back. This seems to make some sense when there is a surplus, assuming the market economy is properly allocating resources, which for them is an article of faith, they never present statistics showing the market is producing optimal outcomes. But, what is really surprising is that they believe tax cuts are also the answer when times are tough and there is a recession. What better way is there to stimulate the economy than to give back some of the money the government has taken in as tax revenue? Needless to say this raises the question of how one could possibly think that reducing taxes will stimulate the economy. During a recession small businesses and large ones are stockpiling money, they are not investing because they are afraid about surviving in the short term. The same goes for individuals. When I’m concerned about my job, the first thing I’m going to do with that 100$ is to put it in the bank and save it. Last thing I would do would be to go out and spend it, unless I absolutely must. And yet they still argue that tax cutting is the best way to stimulate the economy. What can you possibly say about people who propose the same treatment regardless of the circumstances? In good times cut taxes, in bad times cut taxes. In other words the solution to all problems of government is to cut taxes, and it easy to see that this makes no sense. They will counter that liberals want to raise spending when times are good, and also when times are bad. But, it was the liberals that reduced the deficit when they were in power. It was the democrats under Clinton that also trimmed the deficit in the US. So the idea that liberals just spend is nonsense. They do however tax the wealthy and corporations more than the lower and middle class.

The market. What is the market? The modern economy is heavily influenced by government expenditure, the whole military industrial complex is directly funded by the government, and in all advanced countries it is directly funded by the state, what then to make of the argument that the market knows best. Defense contractors may be private companies but they are publically funded, and the same goes for colleges and universities, all publically funded. So when conservatives argue that the government should not be involved in the economy you have to take it with a grain of salt. What they really mean is that the government should not be involved in providing health care, or in educating people, or even in taking care of prisoners, and increasingly should also not be involved in policing. The funded of resource extraction, high tech, and industrial production are all presumably good things for the government to be involved in. There is no mythological free market, and there never has been. The mantra, “the market knows best” is clearly a ruse deployed when needed.

Crime and the scapegoats. A staple of the conservative diet is the demonization of marginal figures in society. First, there are the criminals who liberals treat with kid gloves. They should be executed if serious criminals, and otherwise imprisoned for longer sentences. Moreover the marginal and poor figures in society are cheating and taking advantage of government largess. Needless to say they never delve to deeply into the actual amount of money that people on social assistance receive.

The value of work. Whether someone is producing something useful like a widget, or merely serving coffee, the conservative believes that they are producing goods for society. Their work is creating social value, and they are being taxed on part of that value. The taxed portion is taken by the government and used to support people who do not work. Thus the resentment that I’m working while other people live off the fat of the land. Needless to say government taxes are collected from many sources not just personal taxes. As well, many people get back a large portion of their taxes, and in fact are paying very little. Finally, if your one of those poor souls serving coffee you might appreciate that your tax money can be used to buy a cup, thus facilitating your continued employment, on a scale writ large that means that all those people complaining about being taxed, are often dependent for the these government expenditures for at least part of their income.