BY RUSSELL TURNER
NOTHING NEW
Over the past few weeks there has been a constant drumbeat about the budget shortfall in the state budget of Oklahoma. It never ceases to amaze me how the ruling elite cannot understand that the reason for that shortfall is simply because the people paying taxes aren’t making the kind of money they were making a few years ago. Economic problems are a problem for all societies past and present. Throughout history there are countless examples. The Roman Empire fell because of a lavish lifestyle and high taxation. Many students of history often ask a simple question, who conquered the Romans? The answer is simple, no one conquered the Romans they did it to themselves.
Ever since Donald Trump became president there has been a constant state of turmoil by the liberal left. I watched the news a couple of days ago where a group of people was absolutely throwing a fit because our president has promised to repeal Obamacare. I can guarantee you that those people are receiving virtually free insurance while the rest of us have been penalized for not having an approved plan even though we cannot afford it. Our government and its policies have created classes of people that are only concerned about what they want and couldn’t care less what those policies do to anyone else. While Obamacare is just one example and it is on a federal level, the same problem applies to all levels of government.
Too many of our lawmakers are beholden to special interests. Here in Oklahoma, like all other states, too many of our elected officials will do anything to get elected. There will always be individuals and groups that have the funds to help those politicians achieve their goals. When they donate those funds to our officials they expect special consideration on bills in our legislature. This practice is the primary reason we are experiencing problems with our state budget. Now our governor and other political hacks want to raise taxes on the people that have been ignored and who don’t have the money to donate to election campaigns.
I am tired of hearing that we need to invest in government; these are some of the same people that came up with the lottery and gaming compacts that were supposed to solve all of our financial problems. Most of these individuals have never made a payroll on their own or had their own money at risk, and are currently employed by some government agency with a high salary and good benefit package. If these individuals are so concerned with the welfare of the state maybe they should get out of government and start a business in the private sector and start actually creating wealth instead of consuming wealth.
You can look at the budget of the state of Oklahoma and the nation as a whole, the spending trend always goes up. Our people have become addicted to government; everyone throws a fit if their program may be cut, even though we have gotten into a dilemma where the money is not there to support the status quo. Like the ancient Romans our current government can only see one way out, just pass more taxes to keep the party going a little longer. If our government continues to cannibalize the very people who are paying the bills we will go the way of the Roman Empire.
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