johaneriksson.se

It’s not uncommon for politicians to raise taxes while claiming to do the opposite. President Obama has mastered the technique. What it comes down to, is increased spending, and as ought to be obvious, all that spending must be paid — but not necessarily today. Steven Landsburg explains:

At least that’s the way the President of the United States seems to have it figured—your tax burden, according to him, is measured by what you’re paying right this moment as opposed to what you’re obligated to pay in the future.

That’s the only possible interpretation of his statement last night that Tea Partiers (and others) should be thanking him for cutting taxes. The reality is that President Obama, like President Bush before him, has rather dramatically raised government spending and therefore has raised your taxes. To say otherwise is like saying you got your new swimming pool for free because you put it on your credit card.

It’s obvious why politicians, wanting to boost their popularity, would pull this trick. It pays off extra well for those who know they will be out of the office when the bill is due. What surprises me is that news reporters fail to call them on it.

—-

Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, obama, skatter, journalistik