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Spending is not a Yes / No proposition. Thinking that is most of the problem facing the tea party. They treat it as a yes or no, rather than focusing on spending better and being more efficient. Government programs are not going away. Taxes are not going away. Acting like that is the goal only makes it harder to achieve actual progress.
Something as simple as a National Sales Tax would likely be an idea that could be 'sold' to the American public across the board. 2-3% sales tax on all items excluding necessities (the same sorts of things States now exclude like heating oil and Milk). It would cause every consumer to pay a tax, all 100%, it would cause wealthy people to pay significant taxes on big ticket items... and it would lower the tax on people saving money.
Instead of pushing a sensible issue like that forward, the tea party is busy with nonsense like threatening not to raise the debt ceiling so we can default on obligations already on our balance sheet. Get past 'all spending is bad' and 'all tax is bad' - the message wont work. It has been tried and failed. Start actually proposing meaningful big moves to make the system more efficient and effective. People will but into that.
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