The gifts of government

Most politicians display an attitude that their constituents are like children in need of constant government, care and supervision from rulers who know what is best for them. It’s like they think they own us and therefore anything they do on our behalf is a gift. You see, the government owns your life and your property. Any privilege they allow us is a gift. If a law permits us some activity it’s a gift. If taxes are reduced and you are allowed to keep more of your property it’s a gift.

Yes, tax cuts and tax reform are gifts. Politicians of all stripes believe that. President Trump thinks that his new tax bill, for example, is an “incredible Christmas gift” for Americans. "They're going to start seeing the results in February. This bill means more take-home pay. It will be an incredible Christmas gift for hard-working Americans. I said I wanted to have it done before Christmas. We got it done," Trump said.

Don’t forget the Democrats either. Not a single one of them voted for President Trump’s wonderful Christmas gift, but they still all think of it the same way: It’s a gift. “Republican tax bill is a Christmas gift for the super-rich,” trumpets the L.A. Times. “Trump’s Tax Plan Is a Pointless Gift to the Wealthy,” exalts Slate. “It’s been called a ‘tax cut for the rich, a Christmas gift for the wealthy,’” and more,” says the N.Y. Times.

How about that? All the politicians admit that your money is a gift to you if they allow you to keep it. It’s just a matter about who “benefits” the most from the government allowing us to keep some of our own property – the “middle class” or the “rich.” Poor folks don’t pay any taxes so they don’t get the “gift.” Their gift is that they don’t pay any taxes.

Actually, the truth of the matter is that the politicians, bureaucrats, agents and employees of the government always get the gift no matter what. The government swamp creatures always get the gifts. Their object is to collect revenue from the people. That revenue is their sustenance. The people collectively is their golden goose.

And they realize that if they squeeze their golden goose too much by overtaxing it, the law of diminishing returns acts to reduce their precious revenue. The goose will seek to avoid taxes by producing less. So they’ve learned that cutting taxes, even though it seems counter intuitive, can increase, even maximize their revenue.

The idea that tax cuts are a gift to us is bullshit. The government that treats us like children is full of bullshit. It feeds it to us as children and continues feeding it to us when we’re adults too. President Trump and first lady Melania, for example, became Santa Claus’ helpers when they placed phone calls to children on Christmas Eve. They asked kids what they wanted for Christmas and updated them on Saint Nick’s status, thanks to NORAD’s Santa Tracker, which pinpoints his position as he races around the globe.

Yes, our President and his First Lady were lying to children and feeding them bullshit about Santa on Christmas Eve. I think it’s a form of child abuse. When I learned that Santa Claus was bullshit at the tender age of seven years, that’s when I stopped believing in God too. That’s when I became suspicious of all people of authority. Later, on Christmas day the President was calling soldiers on duty in Afghanistan to say that God was watching over them.

It’s all part and parcel with the gifts of government.

Happy New Year!!!