For at least thirty years Republicans have been accusing Democrats of "tax and spend" as if all the evils in the country were caused by taxation and government spending. As too often is the case, the Democrats have been on the defensive rather than making strong arguments for taxation and spending as necessary to invest in a civil society.
E. J. Dionne, Jr. stated this counter-argument succinctly, "And it should be expanding public investments in the nation’s future, not cutting them." - "Can America still lead?" Washington Post, 2011-08-07, republished in the Star Tribune, 2011-08-09
I scribbled a few notes on our copy of the Strib about how inconsistent "tax and spend" complainers can be:
Spend on nuclear power subsidies, but don't invest in medical care for its side effects.
Low taxes for mining companies but no investment in the health care and safety of their workers or in the repair of the destruction of the environment.
Spend on a mammoth war machine, but little investment in conflict resolution.
