Why We Should Not Fear the Fiscal Cliff
Politics / UK Politics Nov 18, 2012 - 04:51 AM GMTBy: Kevin_Geary
Everyone is worrying about the "Fiscal Cliff" but I say, "bring it on!" It will be great for America (and better than the alternative).
Here's why:
First of all, all the taxes that were cut under George W.Bush led us into a fiscal catastrophe, especially when he started two devastatingly costly and unnecessary wars, that both lasted longer than any other American wars (and Afghanistan, longer than World War I, World War II and the Civil War put together!) So, restoring all tax rates to the level they were when Clinton left office, will bring in huge amounts of revenue, which we desperately need.
Secondly, the "5% cuts across the board" to all government programs including the Military, Education, the Arts, Health and everything else, is actually the only way we'll ever get serious spending cuts made. All corporations, and many households can easily cut 5% off their budgets, and regularly do so, in lean and hard times. Even 10% is manageable.
The fact is that the austerity being imposed on Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland all have increased taxes more, and reduced spending by far more, than anything that will happen here in the so-called "Fiscal Cliff" and were the IMF to come in to the US to "rescue" us from our long-lived folly, they'd be imposing far higher taxes, and far deeper cuts than anything in the "Fiscal Cliff"!
I truly believe that this country needs severe"shock treatment" to restore the balance after more than a decade of profligacy by the Congress. And Congress will do nothing in the next few weeks to fundamentally restore the taxes (revenue) or really cut spending (as opposed to merely decreasing the annual percentage level increases in the various programs funded by Congress).
Since the Democrats won't be prepared to cut spending and the Republicans won't be prepared to bring back tax rates that saw this country go into a surplus for the first time in decades, the "Fiscal Cliff" will actually achieve what neither party is willing to do politically (even though they know it's imperative financially).
So, if we cross the Rubicon (or perhaps, the Delaware?) and fall off the "Fiscal Cliff," it will probably be the very best thing that could happen, to get our finances back into the black. And we need that to happen, desperately.
Kevin Geary
Kevin Geary is an artist, poet, and writer about art, politics and economics, especially economics from an historical perspective. His articles and poetry have been published in newspapers and magazines, and online, including the "Market Oracle" website, and a collection of his poetry "Paris and Other Poems" was published in 2009.
He was the political cartoonist for the Financial Times at the age of 19. His first one-man show was opened by Harold Wilson the prime minister of the UK in 1972. He has had over 75 exhibitions of his art since. Renowned for his portraits for over 35 years, his list of renowned sitters read like a "Who's Who" of political, musical religious and royal figures. His works are to be found in several museums, including the Primary collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.
He has established a great reputation for his abstract works as well in the last 10 years, and his works have also sold on the secondary market at auction houses such as Christie's, in both Europe and the US.
He currently resides in the US, in Arizona.
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