The American Spectator

This seems to be my day for highlighting excellent columns from other places — but this one really does merit attention! Our friend Mark Corallo has a terrific piece at the Daily Caller about how it is the left that should make the moves to “compromise” its agenda, rather than the right that should compromise ours. For example, he writes:

Compromise is not taxing one group to appease another.  Compromise is not spending more here and less there.  Compromise is not ignoring the exponential growth of the entitlement programs that are fueling the exponential growth of this liberty-killing national debt. Compromise is starting with the reality that the government needs to stop spending, get smaller, tax everyone less and get out of our way.

And:

Compromise would be an end to the left’s class warfare.  It would require an acknowledgement from Democrats that wealthy Americans are not the bad guys who don’t pay their fair share.  Since when is about 40% of one’s income not a fair share?  And that’s just the federal bite.  Add state and local income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and fees and the “wealthy” are paying over 50% of their income to the tax man.

About the only thing I disagree with is Corallo’s call for “massive” cuts in the Department of Defense because of its inefficient bureaucracies. I would have written “significant” cuts in civilian personnel, but made clear that our military itself needs to be stronger and better equipped, not cut back. But I’ll bet that’s what Corallo meant, too. In exchange, Corallo writes: “Now, my friends on the left, you come to the table with Labor, HUD, Education, Commerce, Energy, Transportation, HHS and every welfare program and entitlement on the books.”

Hear, hear! Great column.