Tea Party No, Tax Reform Yes

It's becoming more common these days to hear outrage from people who are fed up with seeing their tax money go to bailouts and pork projects. While we didn't have much choice on some of the bailout, it was full of pork pet projects. This outrage is on balance a good thing. Governments have proven to be generally poor stewards of our money. I've said it before, if it doesn't establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, or secure the blessings of liberty, we ought not be paying for it.

But all good outrage must have a kooky element, so enter the so-called Tea Party movement. This supposedly independent but factually right-leaning group is trying to gain traction as a meaningful political force. While I'm all for a viable third party, these folks are actually making me miss Ross Perot. Call me crazy, but if Dick 'Smoke 'em if you got 'em' Armey is one of your organizational leaders, you might not be independent. And if you invite Sarah 'I read all the papers' Palin to be the keynote speaker at your convention, you also might not be independent. Or even very smart.

If those misguided Tea Party souls want to direct their energy at something more independent and worthwhile, they should visit Iowa to watch Chet 'I need another cheeseburger' Culver tax and spend our state into ecomomic oblivion. Or for a more bipartisan target, how about our state board of regents raising tuition at the three public universities by 6%. 6%! Somebody please tell me what in this country, besides healthcare, is currently going up at a 6% clip? Or even half that?! Don't you think maybe, just maybe we've got too many tenured professors and administrators at these schools? Regardless, if it were a business in this economy, raising prices by 6%, it would be finished.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to say "No!" to the governments and their non-profit bretheren, which service the taxpayer like the boar services the sow. Our government combined with our political process is a mixture that simply does not work. We don't need a tea party to fix this, we just need to elect tax reformers that will give us a lower and preferably flat tax structure, and give government the liposuction it dearly needs.