Thursday, June 22, 2006

America's best political satirist?

It may be columnist James Lileks. He recently ridiculed the "promises" the Dems say they'll "keep" if they regain control of Congress. Lileks worked in some facts about things Dems don't like to talk about: a thriving economy, job growth and such. Here's some of Lileks:

"Cut College Costs." Why? Because it's the job of the federal government to regulate the cost of a four-year degree in English lit, with a minor in textile history.

"Ensure Dignified Retirement." Again, sounds great. Mandatory fedoras for men; a 50 percent reduction in Viagra commercials. But no: The Democrats wish to "prevent the privatization of Social Security," because you cannot be trusted with your own money.

It's an interesting definition of dignity: waiting by the mailbox for your government check.

"Require Fiscal Responsibility: Restore the budget discipline of the 1990s that helped eliminate deficits and spur record economic growth." Translation: taxes.

Well, we've had 33 unbroken months of job gains. Tax revenues are up almost 13 percent over 2005, reflecting both the rosy-pink business climate and gains in personal income. As for the fat cats: Taxpayers making more than 200K used to pay only 40.5 percent of total income taxes -- the parasites! -- and now they pay 46.6 percent. When you let them make more money, they pay more taxes. Or you could take a "new direction" -- kill the goose, pull out the golden egg, and send it on a 40-city tour so everyone could see it and take pictures.
I hope your smiling.

Lileks column is here.

Hat Tip: Betsy Newmark
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http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/lileks062106.html

http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He reminds me of a combination of Mark Twain and Will Rogers.

-AC

JWM said...

AC,

That says if perfectly.

John