government handout, Republican style

Written by: Alan Willis on May 5, 2008 7:33 PM EDT

The government handouts are on their way to thousands of American’s mailboxes as I write.  No one wants to call the government handouts, so they are calling it, instead, a “tax rebate.”  But what is the difference?  Americans paid their taxes—some got refunds already, based on their personal income tax accounting—and now, out of that Americans are getting a “rebate” based on income level (a broad income level of $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for jointly-filing married couples) and number of dependents.  It is being sent out because the government perceives, correctly one might add, that millions of Americans are struggling as a result of recent economic difficulties.

It is a government check being issued to Americans based on their economic qualifications for the program.  It is a government handout if ever there was one, and one the government cannot afford.

Let me note one thing here: I am a supporter of our welfare programs, and would support them more if they were more thorough and, especially, more comprehensive regarding healthcare.  But that is not the point.  The point is the conservatives are hailing what is essentially a one-time welfare check because it is being called a “tax rebate.”  In doing so, they are reinforcing the idea that Americans are overtaxed.  We are not, but we are decidedly underserved by our government.  Instead of a healthcare and well-funded schools we get perpetual and unwinnable wars; instead of an economic safety net we get no-bid contracts to the Vice-president’s oil company.

In my previous post on the tax rebate scheme, I wrote noted that the proposal was politically driven and had very little chance of stimulating the economy.  It will, however, further the Republican agenda of underminding the legitimacy of taxes and general and support the continued effort to relieve the rich of any tax "burden" whatsoever.

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