Getting the government we deserve

December 29, 2009

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday offered a sweeping plan to overhaul transportation planning in Texas if she is elected governor, but stopped short of saying how she would pay for it.

My initial reaction was “of course she’s not going to say how she would pay for it” with a smirk on my face. But then I started thinking, can you imagine what would happen if she had actually said, “yes, I’m going to raise the gas tax by ten percent and make sure the all the money goes to transportation infrastructure.” How many people would get past the raising the gas taxes part?

People complain about politicians, pork, and special interests as if it has nothing to do with them personally. But it appears most of the electorate is interested only in hearing how the government will cut their taxes while making sure they get their share of pork. Everybody is against the stimulus package except for the part going to their region. They really don’t want to have to think about how we’re going to pay for our roads–they must believe in a tooth fairy for roads. So of course she isn’t going to say how she’s going to pay for it because that would assume a responsible, thinking, voting citizen shows up at the polls when it’s really just a “tax-payer” who wants to make sure he gets his “fair” share of government spending (not pork) and avoids paying for anything he doesn’t personally use (pork).