The Power to Destroy
“The power to tax is the power to destroy.” Daniel Webster said it and so did Supreme Court justice, John Marshall. It is a power free citizens give to their democratic governments, and a power stolen by thieves and despots. But it is not the only deadly power. Another belongs to anyone willing to use it--the power to define.
President Obama now seeks to shrink government, save tax payer money, and ease the burden on small businesses by consolidating six business bureaucracies: the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Shrinking government is what Republicans constantly demand, so you’d expect them to crow victory. But if Barack Obama does it, it will reflect credit upon him, so they redefine it as a “power grab” and so hope to destroy it.
What they have done is redefine themselves. Pretending to be advocates of small government and low taxes, they have exposed themselves as the actual power grabbers. Giving credit where it is due, some admit it openly. House Speaker, Mi\tch McConnell, for one, says over and over that his first priority is to make Barack Obama a one-term president. And that defines this year’s crop of Republican presidential wannabes. Ask any one of them why they run. The answer is always, “Because I wish to serve my country.”
Sure, like Wall Street traders wish to serve the stock market.
“The power to tax is the power to destroy.” Daniel Webster said it and so did Supreme Court justice, John Marshall. It is a power free citizens give to their democratic governments, and a power stolen by thieves and despots. But it is not the only deadly power. Another belongs to anyone willing to use it--the power to define.
President Obama now seeks to shrink government, save tax payer money, and ease the burden on small businesses by consolidating six business bureaucracies: the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Shrinking government is what Republicans constantly demand, so you’d expect them to crow victory. But if Barack Obama does it, it will reflect credit upon him, so they redefine it as a “power grab” and so hope to destroy it.
What they have done is redefine themselves. Pretending to be advocates of small government and low taxes, they have exposed themselves as the actual power grabbers. Giving credit where it is due, some admit it openly. House Speaker, Mi\tch McConnell, for one, says over and over that his first priority is to make Barack Obama a one-term president. And that defines this year’s crop of Republican presidential wannabes. Ask any one of them why they run. The answer is always, “Because I wish to serve my country.”
Sure, like Wall Street traders wish to serve the stock market.
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