Charleston Post and Courier - "Cutting taxes means cutting nation's ability to provide opportunity"

"Cutting taxes means cutting nation's ability to provide opportunity"
By U.S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings
Charleston Post and Courier

The one thing that politicians can agree upon is being against taxes. In fact, many are so adamant in their opposition as to run against the government -- to run against the job they are running for. "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society," said Oliver Wendell Holmes. But let's try a nation "without taxes" on for size.

Let's agree we are all against taxes except for Social Security, Medicare, and defense. So we would abolish departments such as State, Justice, Commerce and Education. We would eliminate the FBI. We would stop building roads or fixing the ones we have. We would do away with hospitals receiving federal support; eliminate the National Institutes of Health and close the Veterans' hospitals.

We would close the monuments and parks; decertify the food certified by the FDA; and decertify drugs for the same reason. We would eliminate the farm programs; eliminate the development programs; and forget about clean air and clean water -- just close the EPA. We would cancel NASA and NOAA: cancel the housing programs; close the airports; close the prisons -- just release all the prisoners and eliminate the president, Congress, the Cabinet, and the courts. Get rid of the government.

We are lucky to be born in America, where we have a government that helps provide opportunities galore. One born today in Zambia can expect to live to be 37 years old; born in Swaziland, 38 years; born in Rwanda, 39 years; born in Mozambique, 40 years; and in Niger, where someone found yellow cake, he'd live to be 41 years old. If I lived in Niger, I would have died 40 years ago.

Eighty percent of those born today in rural India will have worms; 85 percent will go hungry; and 95 percent will drink dirty water all of their lives. One born today in Botswana has a one in three chance of getting AIDS.

Born today in Mali, instead of the United States, one has only a 10 percent chance of completing the first grade. One born today in Brazil has a 40 percent chance of dropping out of school by the sixth grade. A girl born in Pakistan has a less than 10 percent chance of attending high school.

In Senegal, one has only a 50 percent chance of finding a job. In Sri Lanka, expect to earn only 40 cents an hour; in Haiti 30 cents an hour; in Bangladesh 20 cents an hour. One born in many countries instead of the United States can't vote, there are no labor rights and people can't assemble.

We all like to think we came up "by our own boot straps," that we did it on our own -- but government furnished the boot.
Government provides security, law and order, educational opportunity, a market economy, clean air, clean water, civil rights, labor rights -- a free society. Born in America, as Thomas Wolfe wrote, each has his own "shining golden opportunity." Because of this land of opportunity supported by taxes, Asians come hidden in containers on ships and Mexican immigrants risk their lives every day to get here.

"All right," some say, "we really don't need taxes. What we need is spending cuts." Spending cuts won't do it. Even if
Congress eliminated every non-defense government program, it wouldn't get us out of this deficit hole.

Every American should refer to Page 8 of the Congressional Budget Offices (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook Update which reports that, exclusive of Social Security, Medicare and defense, non-defense outlays for this year amount to $419 billion. On Page 10, CBO projects a $640 billion deficit for this year. So not just cutting, but eliminating every government program other than Social Security, Medicare and defense still leaves us with a deficit in excess of $200 billion.

Now comes President Bush, requesting $87 billion more for Iraq -- all on the credit card. Let's hope the GIs don't get killed so that they can come home and pay the bill because we politicians cry: "We ain't go' pay. We need a tax cut to get re-elected next year."