To Improve the Lot of the Poor-----

In an article in the Wall Street Journal last Monday (Mar. 4, 2013) entitled "Republicans and Their Faulty Moral Arithmetic", Arthur C. Brooks makes the case that free enterprise is the best way to improve the lot of the poor.

He cites a book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" by Jonathan Haidt  in stating "---that citizens across the political spectrum place a great importance on taking care of those in need and avoiding harm to the weak." He goes on to point out that other moral values such as sexual purity and respect for authority register with less people and that raw money arguments don't register morally at all.

The article is not meant as a discussion of whether the public has its priorities right or whether conservatives need to discard their principles. What it is about is that the conservative value of free enterprise is well aligned with the public sentiment  to take care of those in need. If conservatives hope to win elections, they need to better convey that message to the electorate.

Mr. Brooks finds the irony maddening. To quote: "---poor people have been saddled with generations of disastrous progressive policy results, from welfare induced dependency to failing schools. (The left"s) ---policies are gradually ruining the economy, which will have catastrophic results once the safety net is no longer affordable. Labyrinthine regulations, punitive taxation and wage distortions destroy the ability to create private sector jobs. Opportunities for Americans on the bottom to better their station in life are being erased".

Furthermore: "---the record of free enterprise in improving the lot of the poor both here and abroad is spectacular. ----the percentage of people in the world living on a dollar a day or less--a traditional poverty measure--has fallen 80% since 1970. This is the greatest antipoverty achievement in world history. That achievement is not the result of philanthropy or foreign aid. It occurred because billions of souls have been able to pull themselves out of poverty thanks to global free trade, property rights, the rule of law and entrepreneurship."

His conclusion: "By making the vulnerable a primary focus, conservatives will be better able to confront some common blind spots. Corporate cronyism should be decried as every bit as noxious as statism---. Entrepreneurship should not be extolled as a path to accumulating wealth but as a celebration of everyday men and women who want to build their own lives, whether they start a business and make a lot of money or not. And conservative leaders will be able to stand before Americans who are struggling and feel marginalized and say, 'We will fight for you and your family, whether you vote for us or not'---and truly mean it."

There is still much to be accomplished. We know what works and what does not. The Brooks article points to global free trade, property rights, the rule of law and entrepreneurship as the reasons for a world wide decrease in poverty since 1970. To those I would add individual rights and limited government as indispensable components for a just and free society.

We Need Real Solutions--Tax Reform is a Good Start.

When Barack Obama first ran for the Presidency, we had only a dim idea of what his goals were and what he really meant by "change". Nor were we fully aware of how he would lead the nation to attain his rather vague ends.

Now we know what his leadership does not encompass. In particular, he has not been honest and transparent about our very real problems, especially that of the unrelenting rise of a dangerous and crushing debt.

In this week-end's edition of the Wall Street Journal ("Notable & Quotable"), Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) is quoted from a letter that he sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Feb. 26. It reads as follows:

     "The administration is warning sequestration may force the laying off or furloughing of air traffic controllers, border patrol officers, food inspectors, Transportation Security Administration screeners or civilians supporting our men and women in combat in Afghanistan. I would suggest the better approach is to consolidate duplicative positions with overlapping responsibilities and nearly identical jobs."
     "In just the past two years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified more than 1,362 duplicative programs accounting for at least $364.5 billion in federal spending every single year...."
     "During a time of budget cuts, it is irresponsible to pay two or more people to do the same job, while laying off other employees in essential positions performing critical duties."

In an article titled "Obama Is Playing a New Game"in the same edition of the Journal, Peggy Noonan states in part:

     "Past presidents, certainly since Ronald Reagan, went over the heads of the media to win the people, to get them to contact Congress and push Congress to deal. Fine, and fair enough. But Mr. Obama goes to the people to get them to enhance his position by hating Republicans. He's playing only to the polls, not to Congress, not to get the other side to the bargaining table. He doesn't even like the bargaining table. He doesn't like bargaining."

There have been numerous and substantial ideas on how to fix our fiscal problems. Among them are cuts in spending, elimination of unnecessary and duplicative programs, a balanced budget amendment, changes to entitlement programs and tax reform.

In an article in Friday's (Mar. 1, 2013) titled "The GOP Takes Back Tax Reform", Kimberley Strassel states that the Republicans are ready to make tax reform their  "signature issue". She points out that there are many pitfalls in this effort and tough votes ahead for such topics as tax breaks for business and for charitable and mortgage deductions. However, Republicans need to do this for both defensive and offensive reasons. To quote:

     Tax reform "-----is a path to a bold and rejuvenated message on taxes--one that links simplicity and lower rates to economic revival. Done right, it's a GOP response to Mr. Obama' 'fairness' line, allowing the party to stand with the millions of average Americans who can't afford tax lawyers or lobbyists to carve out shelters. It's a means for the GOP to make a growth argument that clicks. Tax cuts and new jobs aside, tax reform is a path to higher wages and more money for the weekly budget, the college fund and the retirement account."

In conclusion, if we continue on our current path of more acrimony, more misrepresentations and more gridlock, we will continue to get the same results: more debt and more crises leading to ultimate failure. The time for real solutions is now and tax reform is a good place to start. It will provide both sides the opportunity to put politics aside and show some statesmanship. Kicking the can further down the road is irresponsible and dangerous.