Crapo's wrong on tax cut extension

Phil Clements

You (Senator Crapo) were quoted in the Spokesman-review as saying that you are squarely against allowing the "Bush tax cuts" to expire. We were promised by the Bush administration that the tax cuts would more than pay for themselves in increased tax revenue. I see, however, that we went from a budget surplus (during the Clinton Administration) to a deficit which continues to this day. I don't think it worked.

We need to pay our bills and quit borrowing from China and others.

In fact there was some concern about the possibility that we might pay off the national debt at the end of the Clinton administration. I notice that after WWII we were paying off the debt pretty steadily until the Reagan administration. The debt then continued to increase until the Clinton administration when it decreased. It then resumed its growth with the second Bush administration. We have some real problems now but things look a lot like after the Hoover administration. Just looking a history.

I suspect that if we had gone into this present recession with the budget under control we would have been better able to weather the storm (and perhaps the storm would not have been as severe). We could reduce spending -- I suggest the military. At any rate a return to the pay-as-you-go formula that was in place before the Bush administration seems like a good idea.

The job of government is to protect and care for the citizens. I am concerned when children are not getting good nutrition, health care, and when they are not being educated.

Regulation is important, humans are weak and greed is always ready to arise. President Reagan told us to trust, but to verify.

I'm a conservative in that I believe we should spend less than we earn. I'm a capitalist in that we need to capitalize our resources and our most important resource is our citizens.

 Why are they mad now?

Thom George

We are told by the Tea-Party that they are “mad and can’t take it anymore” and that the rest of us should be too!

Folks, we had eight years of Bush and Cheney, but NOW they are getting mad ???REALLY ? !!!! NO, REALLY? !!!!

They didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
They didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
They didn’t get mad about gas prices when Bush and Cheney friends at the oil companies raised a gallon of gas price to more than $5 and posted highest profits in the history of U.S for 8 years straight (Bush presidency).
They didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative identity was revealed.

They didn't get mad when the Patriot Act , which allows torture and disregards personal rights for Americans, got passed.

They didn't get mad when Bush and Cheney illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us, Iraq.

They didn't get mad when Bush and Cheney spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war, Iraq.

They didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

They didn't get mad when they found out about torturing people.

They didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

They didn't get mad that Bin Laden was not caught when Bush had a chance to do so.
They didn't get mad when they saw the horrible veterans conditions at Walter Reed.

They didn't get mad when Bush let a major US city drown like a 3rd world country.

They didn't get mad when Bush gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.

They didn't get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars was redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage, which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.

They didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark (when during Clinton presidency we had almost a Trillion dollars surplus), and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.

They finally got mad when a government decided that people in America deserved the right to get treatment if they are sick and can not afford to do so.

Yes, an illegal war, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with the Tea party. They are partying not with tea, but with sucking the blood of the ordinary Americans.

Sure! NOW, THEY ARE MAD!!! Helping the ordinary Americans...”oh hell no! They have to be MAD!!!”.

Suggested themes for "Letters to the Editor" RE: Financial Reform

LTE #1:  Holding Wall Street Accountable

The financial crisis was the result of a fundamental failure from Wall Street to Washington. Wall Street took irresponsible risks that they didn’t fully understand and Washington did not have the authority to properly monitor or constrain risk-taking at the largest firms. When the crisis hit, they did not have the tools to break apart or wind down a failing financial firm without putting the American taxpayer and the entire financial system at risk.

LTE #2:  Protecting American Families From Unfair, Abusive Financial Practices

Too many responsible American families have paid the price for an outdated regulatory system that left our financial system vulnerable to collapse and left families without adequate protections. We must protect and empower families with the strongest consumer protections ever.

We Must Establish An Independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency To Set And Enforce Clear, Consistent Rules For The Financial Marketplace. A single consumer agency will set clear rules of the road and ensure that financial firms are held to high standards.

LTE #3:  Closing The Gaps In Our Financial System

This crisis demonstrated that the rules governing our financial system are inadequate. Two years since the collapse of Bear Stearns and one year since the financial crisis peaked, we still have these very same, inadequate rules in place. We must modernize our financial system and take the necessary steps to close the gaps in our system and eliminate regulatory arbitrage.

LTE #4:  Reform is Critical to Market Certainty and Stable Growth

Reform is central to providing a foundation for stable growth. Our financial system is most competitive when our system is stable, resilient and transparent.

Reforms Will Make The Financial Industry And The Markets They Operate In Stronger, Safer, And More Competitive.

Read the Fact Sheet - An essential financial watchdog for consumers.

Want to write a response to any of these letters or just express your opinion? Go to our Idaho Democratic Party website for some good ideas on letter writing by clicking here.

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