The other day, I received an email from my Republican US Representative. In it, he excitedly informs his constituents of the opportunity for parents to claim “Childhood Investment Accounts,” aka “Trump Accounts” (the official title), that the federal government has already enrolled their children in. I was taken aback as this supposedly conservative Republican went on to describe, with almost giddy delight, one of the most socialistic things I think I’ve ever heard.
The Trump Accounts my Congressman is touting are one of the hundreds of provisions contained in the 25 separate bills bundled together into last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These so-called “tax-advantaged” accounts are effectively IRAs for children, allowing funds to grow tax-free until they are withdrawn and the gains are taxed at age 59½, or the funds are used for college or a first-time home purchase. Any other use of the funds will not only be taxed but also subjected to a 10 percent penalty.
Taking pride in his support for the bill, my Rep goes on to explain that accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a one-time $1,000 “seed contribution.” That’s $1,000 of “Free Money,” withdrawn, of course, from the US Treasury, which, of course, gets its money from taxpayers, who, of course, are now $1,000 poorer. This, of course, is the redistribution of wealth, otherwise known as socialism, and all but five Republicans in the two houses of Congress voted for it.
Continue reading “Are Republicans Socialists Now?”
It seems to be a popular notion among the conservative right to think that hypocrisy is the exclusive domain of the liberal left. However, in recent years I have become increasingly aware of the presence of hypocrisy infecting the political right and I find it quite disturbing.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, depending whether you were receiving the “Republican 2017 Congressional District Census,” or the “Official 2017 Democratic Party Survey”; whether your party had just achieved victory, or suffered defeat; whether your party was in power, trying to defend the country against the forces of evil, or was out of power, trying to take the country back from the forces of evil. Whichever survey you received, one thing was certain: The country could only be saved if you “send us your money!”
A couple years ago, while reading an article about some internal strife in my state’s Republican Party, I was surprised to read that, “the state GOP has a policy of not endorsing one Republican over another.” I had noticed that this seemed to be the party’s practice, but didn’t know it was an actual policy.
“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature … If the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”
The Conservative Right seems to operate from a general assumption that things keep getting worse because liberals are in power and democrats win all the elections. However, I got curious and did a little research on the topic. I discovered that over the past 20 years, republicans have held 57% of the control of our federal government – 68% if you add in the Supreme Court – that’s a 68/32 split in favor of the republicans. Among the union states, the elephant party holds complete control (legislature and governor) of nearly half the states (23) – more than three times as many as the dreaded donkeys (7). It turns out that America is overwhelmingly republican-controlled.