A keystone of Republican Party policy, and this administration, has been privatization, and cutting taxes. But unlike past administrations, this one does not want to cut spending, as the only place to cut it, is on programs for the sick and the poor or the elderly, however, being many of their policies have resulted in an increase in the numbers of sick and poor, and the population is aging it would be political suicide to cut spending on these by much.
Thus the dilemma facing the administration, how to cut taxes maintain spending, and balance the budget. Now a problem like this requires thinking outside the box. Whenever a democrat has faced a budget shortfall like this he just raised taxes. Even old time conservatives like Reagan would raise taxes, not as much as a democrat would, because Republicans know, as Vice President Cheney told former Treasury Secretary ONeill, You know Paul, Reagan proved deficits dont matter. But Bush is a different kind of Republican, and is not going to mortgage away a future generations welfare, in order to cut taxes and maintain spending by borrowing, no thats pre 9/11 thinking.
Which brings us to President Bushs and his inner circles decision not to obtain warrants from the FISC, Foreign Intelligence Security Court, to legally engage in domestic eavesdropping, and why he is determined to continue doing so. You see the problem with getting a warrant from FISC, is it takes time. Now the law does provide for obtaining one retroactively in times of war or national emergency, but the administration has not done this either. Naturally you have to show a reason for the warrant, since 1978 when the court was established under FISA, Foreign Intelligence Security Act, few warrants, if any have, been denied. As of 2003 the number of wiretap warrants issued by FISC out number those issued in normal criminal cases. So it would seem that there is little reason for not following the legally proscribed route for eaves dropping, but thats thinking in the box, and the and the realities of our post 9/11 world require outside the box thinking.
Now Bush is the only President to have an MBA, and Vice President Cheney ran Halliburton, and these guys know how to think outside the box and make money. I mean Bush used $600,000 in borrowed money to buy 1.8% of the Texas Rangers and be one of two managing general partners, and later sold his stake for $14 Million or around 10% of the teams value. Cheneys former company, Halliburton, has been awarded billions in government contracts, many of which were no bid, and has refunded a few million in over billings as they happen to be stumbled upon.
With two outside the box guys like these, plus a couple of legal eagles like Harriet Miers and Attorney General Gonzales, there was no chance that the administration would not find a solution to the problem of cutting taxes, maintaining spending, and balancing the budget, and so they have.
It is a brilliant and elegant solution that Bush and his inner circle conceived, that is in complete harmony with the principles of the Republican Party and the Presidents conservative base, and its simplicity is genius.
The Bush deficit reduction plan wipes out the public in the public debit by privatizing it, now it still has to be paid but instead of using tax revenues the government will use private money. Seems impossible I know but this is where the outside the box thinking comes into play.
Using the NSAs eavesdropping and electronic warfare abilities, the government will be able to intercept and record all credit card transactions and electronic transfers of funds that result, and by electronically diverting a small amount of money from each of the billions of transaction into the vast number of government accounts that exist, and than interfering with the tracking of the transfers, the diversion of funds will be impossible trail, and thus in short order the government will be able to reduce the federal deficit. Naturally going to a FISC court would impossible, as the number of warrants would be astronomical, but the administrations outside the box thinking cap is always on. If the eavesdropping is discovered refuse to comment on grounds of national security. If that doesnt work assert Presidential powers as Commander in Chief. And if that doesnt work accuse the critics of security violations, name them as terrorism suspects, or declare them enemy combatants, and detain them indefinitely
For the first time in the history of the world, a country can cut taxes, increase spending, fight a war, and reduce its public debt, thats the kind of outside the box thinking we need in this post 9/11 world..
Life is no joke but funny things happen
jon
