Olympia Snowe's op-ed (4/29) citing Ronald Reagan Republican credo as "restraining government spending" and "tax reduction" made me wonder why the Republicans are so fixated on reducing taxes for the very rich. But looking at the states where the GOP has a majority in the legislature and an elected governor, may provide an answer. Is it possible that the "tax cut" is the first step in a multi step process designed to perpetuate Republican power on state and national elective offices? Once the flow of income to the state and national treasuries is diminished, the inescapable next step is to cut services provided by the government, and the first casualty, usually, is education.
The five states that in 2006 had both a Republican Governor and a Republican legislature (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Alaska) are 50th, 47th, 31st, 28th and 10th in spending per pupil for education. The Republicans seem to believe that an educated electorate is not going to vote for them, and they may be right.
The Republican party's propaganda, whether coming from their elected officials, or broadcast by bombastic radio and television persons, is geared primarily towards the less affluent and less educated citizens. By constant repetition of one-sided stories, lies and half-truth, and by calling their opponents "elitist" and "socialist" and worse, they create a divisive atmosphere and foster hatred in this country.
There used to be a TV commercial with the tag line "an educated consumer is our best customer." The Republican party turned it around to "the ill educated citizen is our best voter."
(Sun-Sentinel 5/17/09)
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