Budget ironies

Budget deficits and battles over taxes and cuts to government are the norm these days.  It just seems to me that Republican policies are perfect example of cutting off your nose to spite your face. 


Here in California the Democratic coastal areas of the State pay more taxes to the State than they receive back in benefits from the State. The inland counties that form the backbone of the Republican party receive more back from the State than they pay in taxes.   So Republican areas of the State pay less taxes and get more benefits from State spending than the areas that are Democratic.


Yet for twenty years California Republicans have had no agenda other than cutting taxes and cutting Government.  We are now at the point their obstinacy is probably going to result in major Government cuts. 


If it wasn't for the human cost, I would enjoy the delicious irony as the Central Valley experiences the impact of the loss of that major ongoing injection of State money into their already flimsy local economies. 


On the National scene the same situation is true.  More tax revenues come from the Democratic leaning states, more tax money goes out to Republican leaning states.   Republicans in Congress will not accept any increase in taxes.


Of course we all will be impacted eventually.   Big corporations and Wall Street will do OK no matter what happens.  They are busy selling stuff to the rest of the world, they don't need us anymore.  But it will hit a lot of main streets hard.   We pulled out of the last economic free-fall through massive government spending.  Government threw money at big corporations to keep them from failing and sending us into a depression.  Distasteful but reasonably effective.  Now we are going to effectively remove Government from the picture with nothing in sight to replace governments economic contribution.  We could be headed for a long and painful decade or so.