Republican economic policy aims to make the rich richer

The GOP elephant is an ostrich. Those in control of Republican party policy seem to think if they bury their heads in the sand, all our problems, all the threats to the environment and our economy will go away. Republicans continue to fiddle while the world burns (literally and figuratively).

Delaying the switch to renewable energy is not only bad for the environment. It’s extremely expensive. It’s bad for the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. economy and bad for world peace. Oil revenue finances bad governments around the world, including Putin’s.

Ill-considered deregulation often has dire, even catastrophic, consequences to the environment, public health, the banking system, financial markets, and government deficits. But Republicans never seem to learn from their mistakes.

Dick Cheney claimed Reagan “proved” deficits don’t matter. Heck, Republicans love creating deficits with profligate tax cuts (and financial crises); love blaming those deficits on “tax and spend” Democrats; and love forcing (the usually much more fiscally responsible) Democrats to take the heat for implementing the unpopular policies that will help reduce those deficits, and the inflation primarily caused by the Fed’s mistakes.

Republican economic policy aims to make the rich richer — which is very different from being “good for business,” as often falsely claimed.

Many of the super rich who control large established businesses bankroll the Republican party because they don’t want to pay taxes, don’t want to pay for the damage they do, want to pay their employees as little as possible, want to benefit from profligate defense spending, and/or want other preferential (e.g. tax, regulatory and public “investment”) treatment and bailouts that inhibit competition from the less politically well-connected.

Huge “campaign contributions” are often profitable “investments” that pay off directly when Republican party policy permits the super rich to pay lower tax rates than those who are much less wealthy.

Many Republicans seem to take pride in supporting political candidates most others actually find disgusting. Many don’t seem to see the incongruity, or indeed hypocrisy, of selecting a womanizer with no respect for the law or the truth to lead their counterrevolution against (perceived) “immorality” and immigration.

Many sanctimoniously claim to support the “right to life” while advocating aggressive military policy; while seeming to take pride in being a threat to their neighbors, insisting on their “right” to use deadly weapons; while heedlessly destroying the environment that supports all life; and while scheming to deny people (including pregnant women) medical care, gut safety regulations, and dismantle the safety net provided by Social Security and Medicare, etc.

Mark Holmboe, Rockford