If big government works efficiently and effectively for the citizenship and fills a much needed void . . . doesn’t that make it good government, regardless of its size or lack thereof?

I look at his statement to mean that in this financial downward spiral, his administration will be looking to cut programs that waste tax payers dollars (admittedly, the opposite side to that coin is the possibility of increasing the budgets for programs that work efficiently and effectively to serve the people).

He’s never going to be the Conservative Republican you’d like to see reclaim the White House (I’d pose that in today’s centrist political system you’d be hard pressed to get a true Conservative back into the Executive Branch) but at least he’s made a statement indicating that he’s willing to trim the excess fat. Can’t you view that with some positive regard?

Thanks for the blog.

“This behemoth spending-bill was porked-up with such essential items as rodent control in Alaska ($113,000); olive fruit-fly research in France ($213,000); a hunting and fishing museum in Pennsylvania ($200,000); a bike trail in Minnesota ($700,000); a post office museum in Las Vegas ($200,000); and a $2 million monument to Rep. Charlie Rangel in New York.”

Still don’t think earmarks are pork?

I also think you’ll find that this blog has been very receptive to Ron Paul’s candidacy. I stand for the reduction in size of government–which includes spending. I’d start by eliminating the Department of Education, create a flat tax (downsizing the IRS), and end the unsuccessful war on drugs.

While you claim I “hate his foreign policy”, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Ron Paul’s stance on leaving Iraq has many merits. The over-intervention of the current Administration (and past Administrations) is wrong, and is destroying our dollar.

While I respect Congressman Paul (see http://goldwaterreagan.com/category/ron-paul/), I can’t respect a Paul shill who simply plasters talking points on a blog. I hope in the future you can comment in a more thoughtful manner. I’m sure you and I have much in common.

Cheers.

Earmarks are meant to say “hey, if you’re going to pass this massive bill, then I’m grabbing a piece of the pie for my constituents so that it doesn’t go to something I don’t like.”

Fighting earmarks allows for the federal government to waste it on horrible things. You need to worry about reducing spending, not earmarks.

This list is awful. It should contain one person: Ron Paul.

I know you hate his foreign policy. Well, why’d we go into Iraq and Afghanistan? To get rid of tyrannical governments and install democracy, right? Well, that’s done, so let’s get out! All we’re doing now is making enemies and building permanent military bases. These things are awful and we need to stop. There is a time for non-interventionism. That time is now. We’re bankrupt and our dollar is insolvent. This is the perfect time for Ron Paul.

Huckabee is all about calling his listeners to “do something,” to awaken them to their own empowerment, and summon them to action in order that “Main Street,” and not “Wall Street,” will prevail in guarding the values and beliefs upon which the Republic was founded.

Huckabee puts his listeners at ease, and reassures them, articulating clear concepts in a natural, easy style (no doubt something well-cultivated as a pastor). He’s not as “mechanically-scripted” as Romney, nor angry or demanding, like a Ron Paul, and his large brown eyes, peering through a humble demeanor, draw a striking contrast to a unconvincing, tired-looking Thompson. One can easily imagine sitting comfortably with Mike over a cup of coffee at the Main Street Cafe.

Most importantly, Huckabee convinces many that he is ONE with the FairTax grassroots movement ( http://snipr.com/fthuckabeeonirs ). While many – like Romney, and others, who are invested in the current income tax system – seek to demagog ( http://snipurl.com/taxpanelrebutted ) the well-researched FairTax plan, its acceptance in the professional / academic community ( http://snipurl.com/econsopenletter ) continues to grow. Renown economist Laurence Kotlikoff believes that failure to enact the FairTax – choosing instead to try to “flatten” what he deems to be a non-flattenable income tax system – will eventuate into an irrevocable economic meltdown ( http://snipurl.com/meltdowninprogress ) because of the hidden aspects of the current system that make political accountability impossible.

Romney’s recent WEAK response to FairTax questioning on “This Week with Geo. Stephanopoulos ( http://snipurl.com/stephanopoulosdebate )” drew a sharp contrast between Huckabee and all other presidential front-runners who will not embrace it. Huckabee understands that what’s wrong with the income tax can’t be fixed with “a tap of the hammer, nor a twist of the screwdriver.” That his opponents cling to the destructive Tax Code, the IRS, preserving political power of granting tax favors at continued cost to – and misery of – American families, invigorates his campaign’s raison d’etre.

Of the FairTax, Huckabee asserts that it’s…

• SIMPLE, easy to understand
• EFFICIENT, inexpensive to comply with and doesn’t cause less-than-optimal business decisions for tax minimization purposes
• FAIR, FLAT, and FAMILY FRIENDLY, loophole-free, and everyone pays their share
• LOW TAX RATE is achieved by broad base with no exclusions
• PREDICTABLE, doesn’t change, so financial planning is possible
• UNINTRUSIVE, doesn’t intrude into our personal affairs or limit our liberty
• VISIBLE, not hidden from the public in tax-inflated prices or otherwise
• PRODUCTIVE, rewards – rather than penalizes – work and productivity

A detailed benefits analysis of the plan (from The FairTax Book) explains Huckabee’s ardent advocacy:

For INDIVIDUALS:
• No more tax on income – make as much as you wish
• You receive your full paycheck – no more deductions
• You pay the tax when you buy “at retail” – not “used”
• No more double taxation (e.g. like on current Capital Gains)
• Reduction of “pre-FairTaxed” retail prices by 20%-30%
• Adding back 29.9% FairTax maintains current price levels
• FairTax would constitute 23% portion of new prices
• Every household receives a monthly check, or “pre-bate”
• “Prebate” is “advance tax payback” for monthly consumption to poverty level
• FairTax’s “prebate” ensures progressivity, poverty protection
• Finally, citizens are knowledgeable of what their tax IS
• Elimination of “parasitic” Income Tax industry
• NO MORE IRS. NO MORE FILING OF TAX RETURNS by individuals
• Those possessing illicit forms of income will ALSO pay the FairTax
• Households have more disposable income to purchase goods
• Savings is bolstered with reduction of interest rates

For BUSINESSES:
• Corporate income and payroll taxes revoked under FairTax
• Business compensated for collecting tax at “cash register”
• No more tax-related lawyers, lobbyists on company payrolls
• No more embedded (hidden) income/payroll taxes in prices
• Reduced costs. Competition – not tax policy – drives prices
• Off-shore “tax haven” headquarters can now return to U.S
• No more “favors” from politicians at expense of taxpayers
• Resources go to R&D and study of competition – not taxes
• Global “free (and equitable) trade” becomes possible for currently-disadvanted ( http://snipurl.com/tradeinequity ) U.S. exports
• US exports increase their share of foreign markets

For THE COUNTRY:
• 7% – 13% economic growth projected in the first year of the FairTax
• Jobs return to the U.S.
• Foreign corporations “set up shop” in the U.S.
• Tax system trends are corrected to “enlarge the pie”
• Larger economic “pie,” means thinner tax rate “slices”
• Initial 23% portion of price is pressured downward as “pie” increases
• No more “closed door” tax deals by politicians and business
• FairTax sets new global standard. Other countries will follow

While passionately supporting FairTax, Huckabee understands that, if elected President, Congress will have to present the bill for his signature. His call to action goes beyond his candidacy, Main Street will have to demand ( http://snipr.com/scrapthecode ) that their legislators deliver the bill.

(Permission granted to republish, in whole or part. -Ian)