The American Spectator

Political Hay

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Even traditionally high-tax western European states have been forced to take note. Although the dominant reaction has been to try to use the European Union to force up rates in new members to the east, some analysts have been making the case for lower and simpler rates.

The other reform that America badly needs is on the spending side. Far too many federal outlays cannot be justified by any public interest test.

To the contrary, Uncle Sam has proved to be a soft touch when approached by almost any interest group with an official letterhead and at least two members. Special interest subsidies suffuse the federal budget. Washington routinely doles out welfare to profitable corporations.

The biggest spending programs, Medicare and Social Security, target the middle class rather than the poor. More military resources go to subsidize prosperous and populous allies than defend Americans.

The endless parade of pork barrel projects, though relatively small compared to the almost $3 trillion budget, are the greatest scandal of all, as politicians use taxpayers' money to campaign for reelection. The group Citizens Against Government Waste counts 13,997 pork barrel projects already approved for 2005 at a cost of $27.3 billion, yet the "emergency" supplemental recently passed by the Senate adds even more.

Thankfully, Tax Freedom Day has come, even for residents of Connecticut, who bear the nation's highest tax burden. But no American should have to spend a third of his or her time working for the government.

To his credit, President George W. Bush made lower taxes a priority. But the campaign for real tax relief and tax reform has barely begun.

p> Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. br> /p>

topics:
Taxes, Transportation, Health Care, Federal Budget, Social Security, Military, Russia, European Union, Alaska, Medicare