This is a copy of a letter to the editor written by Dick Conklin and published in the Register Mail on 8/28/11. Thanks Dick!
It may shock some that the "Party" , the Tea Party which is told to "go to 'hades' and stay there', that is called terrorists, hostage takers, extremists is really the Party of Balance, the "Party" that is centered. This probably sounds to many like self-justifying political pablum but I'd like to offer a few examples.
In the area of taxation the Tea Party favors a flat tax rate applying to more tax payers, with virtually no loopholes or exemptions. Then the Warren Buffets of the world would no longer get away with paying less in taxes than their secretaries and GE with its billions in profits wouldn't get away with paying no taxes while other private enterprises may pay anywhere between 0 and 35% as under the current tax structure. Which is the more balanced approach this latter or current tax structure or the Tea Party's approach?
The Tea Party again favors a "Flat" or "Fair" Tax Plan ( 2 different approaches to taxation) that removes lobbyists and special interest groups from determining tax rates. This certainly is a more balanced and reasonable approach to setting tax rates and structures.
Regarding Government Spending, George Bush in his 8 years of Presidency generated nearly $5 Trillion in additional debt while President Obama nearly $4 Trillion in his 3 Years. The current debt reduction plan will actually result in an increase in our current debt of $14.4 Trillion by another $8 Trillion in10 years. None of this is balanced or centered. The Tea Party favors deficit and debt fixed in relation to a percentage of GDP. They favor a balanced budget amendment because historically congress has shown no adult capability in reigning in uncontrolled unsupportable spending.
In the area of Government intrusion in our Lives The Tea Party feels it is not the job of the government to micro manage our lives down to telling us what kind of light bulbs we can use in our own homes. When Donna Brazille, former campaign advisor for Bill Clinton and current political analyst for the DNC, opines in a recent Guest Column, that it is the government's job to protect us from corporate greed, the Tea Party would ask where she finds that power in the constitution. The problem resides in that she is making and asking the government to make a subjective value judgement and base policy on it. What is one woman's greed may be anther's incentive to create wealth for herself and jobs incidentally for others. When you have a strong central government it is only natural for it to try to intrude itself in our lives. It takes an ever vigilant citizenry to minimize the role of a strong government in picking winners and losers based on its own subjective values such as one's definition of greed over another's.
These are just a few examples of the balanced nature of the Tea Party. This will most likely not convince the hard line name callers on the other side. However, it may open the eyes of many others that the Tea Party is far more balanced in its approach than that of its demonizers.
Dick Conklin
Galesburg TEA Party
