Jan Ross – 8/24/06

This page was last updated on August 26, 2006.

Bush fan may be happy but …; Jan Ross; Beaver County Times; August 24, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I am happy for letter writer Rita Gavert, who sees ‘no reason to impeach Bush.’

[RWC] Ms. Gavert’s letter isn’t on the Times website so I don’t know if Ms. Ross accurately represents that letter’s contents. As you will read below, Ms. Ross’ letter is nothing but a list of anti-Bush talking points she probably read somewhere.

“I am happy that she sees the tax cuts for the wealthy as beneficial.”

[RWC] Here’s an excerpt from one of my letters to the editor.

“Regarding the ‘tax cuts for the rich’ premise, the Tax Foundation reports, ‘Despite the charges of critics that the tax cuts enacted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 favored the ‘rich,’ these cuts actually reduced the tax burden of low- and middle-income taxpayers and shifted the tax burden onto wealthier taxpayers.’

“Further, the Tax Foundation tells us ‘7.8 million low and middle-income families had their entire income tax liabilities erased by the cuts. More than 90% of the 7.8 million families knocked off the tax rolls by the Bush tax cuts earn less than $50,000 per year. Another 9.3% of these families earn between $50,000 and $100,000, while just 0.06% earn more than $100,000.’

“Tax Foundation analysis of IRS data shows the top 1% of filers pays over 34% of total taxes paid. The top 5% pays over 54% and the top 50% pays over 96%. That means the bottom 50% - the so-called ‘working poor’ – pays less than 4%.”

“I am happy for her that unlike me, she does not have an incurable chronic disease that leaves her dependent on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”

[RWC] I’ll probably take some flak for this comment, but it appears Ms. Ross sees herself as a victim and uses her perceived victimhood as a club. You see, this isn’t the first time Ms. Ross told us about her illness. Almost exactly one year ago (“Reality show challenge”; August 21, 2005), Ms. Ross jumped on State Rep. Mike Veon for his payjacking support. As in this letter, the centerpiece one year ago was Ms. Ross’ physical condition.

“The same bill that provided those muscular tax cuts for the upper bracket also gutted spending for Medicare and Medicaid so that my premium for Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities has gone up with no corresponding increase in my wages. I can’t afford groceries.”

[RWC] Now Ms. Ross simply gets into lying. Check the budgets during the Bush administration and you’ll find spending for all these socialism-based programs increased. For example, SS spending has increased approximately 30% (about 4.5%/year) since President Bush took office. In the last two budgets alone, Medicare spending has increased 32% and Medicaid spending has increased 9.5%.

Regarding MAWD, it appears to be a state program.

“I am happy for her that she is not concerned that the huge budget surplus after Clinton’s eight years has been turned into a multitrillion-dollar deficit after Bush’s six years. Perhaps she does not have any descendants who will have to deal with Bush’s economic catastrophe.”

[RWC] The “huge budget surplus” was already dropping as a result of the recession that began during the last year of the Clinton administration. It’s kind of funny, though. Above Ms. Ross is bent out of shape because she says the feds aren’t spending enough on her pet programs, but now she whines about a budget deficit. Don’t these people think before they write? Of course, Ms. Ross probably believes the solution is to tax “the wealthy” into a balanced budget.

Ms. Ross, before you talk about a “multitrillion-dollar deficit,” you should know today’s total annual spending budget is less than $3 trillion. As a result, it’s tough to have a “multitrillion-dollar deficit.” This year’s deficit is now estimated to be about $300 billion. That’s a lot, but it’s not a “multitrillion-dollar deficit.” I could be wrong, but I suspect Ms. Ross doesn’t worry about budget deficits when Democrats control Congress and/or when a Democrat is president.

“She also appears unconcerned about the young American men and women and the large number of innocent Iraqi civilians who have been killed in a war that does not have anything to do with al-Qaida’s attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Since I have a 17-year-old son who could be affected by the misuse of our military, I am concerned.”

[RWC] If Ms. Ross is so worried about “the large number of innocent Iraqi civilians who have been killed in a war,” what actions did she take to safeguard “innocent Iraqi civilians” when Saddam Hussein was killing them by the hundreds of thousands?

Regarding the Iraq war, is Ms. Ross telling us 9/11’s the only justification we can use?

In case Ms. Ross forgot, we haven’t had a draft for about 30 years. If she’s worried about her son, she should tell him not to volunteer.

“I hope that Gavert and others can remain happy and insulated from the multitude of problems that have been caused by this administration.”

[RWC] Note the drive-by accusation of “the multitude of problems that have been caused by this administration.” What are these problems? Did President Bush cause terrorism? Did President Bush cause the recession that began during the last year of the Clinton administration?

Every president makes mistakes, but Ms. Ross appears to believe everything was rosy when Bill Clinton left office

“However, the rest of us have to live in reality.”

[RWC] Except for the folks like Ms. Ross who live in denial. So far, Ms. Ross’ idea of “reality” is to blame President Bush for everything she thinks is wrong.

“Gavert is correct in saying some people want to impeach Bush for ‘daring to violate our rights and privacy by trying to pick up on activities of these thugs.’

“There are still Americans who believe in our Constitution and are horrified when a president feels he can ignore it.”

[RWC] When has President Bush indicated he feels he can ignore the Constitution? If he believed he was violating the Constitution, why did President Bush make sure members of Congress of both parties were briefed from the beginning and on a regular basis about these programs? If you believe you’re doing something illegal, you don’t tell people about it.