Pirate Booty

No. I'm not going to write about Somali pirates, though I think they should burn. I'm talking about the booty our own government pirates get away with to fund their profligate spending. The tax system is an effective tool to either bolster the economy, or destroy it. Examples of destruction due to the misuse of the tax system are manifest in the presidencies of LBJ, Nixon and Carter, among others.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the spending budget grew 61% between 1965 and 1969. This was during ever unpopular Vietnam War. On top of spending on guns, the LBJ Administration began increasing spending on "butter", or social programs known as the Great Society. Of course to fund this, higher taxes seemed to be the panacea. Art Laffer (The Laffer Curve) would disagree.

Then there's Nixon. Milton Friedman was once asked who the worst economically minded president was. Nixon was the answer.

Oh then there's Carter. He's famous for the energy crisis he created in the 70s. The price controls and the windfall profits taxes he instituted on "big oil" diminished domestic oil production, increased demand for oil in the U.S., and increased reliance on foreign oil. Sounds like a safe national security measure, right? I mean, gas prices jumped and we became slaves to foreign oil sheiks and cartels. Glory, hallelujah!

If liberal Dems are allow to captain the ship and steer her in the same direction as these clowns, we may as well subject ourselves to Somali pirates. In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow: "STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!!!"