When is Too Much Too Much?

Published Feb. 5, Winter Haven News Chief

Reform is in the air.  Let me clarify  that& the word reform is in the air!   As we get closer and closer to November, it will become a mantra& Medicare, Social Security, the tax code, schools& John McCain claimed with his win in New Hampshire the Republican Party had reclaimed it rightful heritage as the Reform Party. 

But a couple of candidates including John McCain have let some telling words and phrases slip into the rhetoric& Shore up, we need money to save Social Security. 

More money does not reform Social Security& more money does not change Medicare and more money has not always made a difference in schools.  

A recent example in Florida; we were sold on the idea that all the money from the Lottery would go to enhance our schools.  But it did not take lawmakers to cut the school budget to free up some money for other programs now that the lottery was pouring money into schools.  More money did not reform schools.  In a southern state a Cyber billionaire has given money to make sure every school child can read.  You would think that the schools would be extremely embarrassed.  They had failed at the first basic objective of a school; to teach a child to read, all other education follows.  It is obvious that the schools had turned off a childs natural hunger for learning and had not performed the basic thing they were charged with.  Embarrassed?  No, quite happy that someone would ante up the bucks to do what they were paid to do.  Do you think that that money will be the spur to reform?  I doubt it.

A novel approach&the only way for reform is through tax cuts.  Yes, tax cuts.  Since more money does not reform, lets try less.  It will work, here is why.

John McCain and George W. Bush are battling it out over the size of the tax cut each proposes.  Bush is right on this one.  Both say that they have put money in to pay down the debt, to save and shoe up Social Security and Medicare.  But if either gets in and enacts his tax cut, the only real thing will be the money that the American people DO NOT send to Washington.  Neither plan assures that the money will be used to pay down the debt.  And if there are surpluses, there is no assurance that either Social Security or Medicare will be truly reformed.  In fact, the larger the surplus, the LESS likely that there will be reform.  It will be easier to throw more money down the rigged rat hole than to make structural reforms that will do the job.  No self respecting retirement plan would think of not using the power of investing or to take advantage of compounding.  But the government does, in fact what they do is worse.  They take from the individual and then tax the rest of us to make up for the lost investing and compounding.  

We are now taxed at the highest level during anytime in our history when we were at peace.  Still, the programs need more money to sustain them.  As I say, we have tried too much.

Lets try not quite enough.

Mr. McCain has said that too much money in campaigns corrupts the people and the system.  He is referring to those in the Senate and he does include himself.  This is not the topic of the column, but McCain insists that if we had just one more law we in the Senate (and he!) would not be so corrupt!  Sounds like the Democrats, who were absolutely corrupt concerning campaign money during the 1996 presidential run crying about just one more law and well be good!

But indeed an excess of money does not always encourage the best in us.  Hunger is sometimes a very motivating force!  The answer is real reform not more money.