Why don't they have to justify their policies?
Here’s a novel approach. Let’s try asking Republicans difficult questions for a change. Since Republicans are the more dynamic political group, maybe the onus should be placed on them to justify their policies.
One important question I don’t hear anyone asking Republican’s is: why are you so committed to getting tax cuts for such a small number of people? According to Barry Blitt in "Who Will Stand Up to the Superrich?", "the top 1 percent of Americans now have (sic) tax rates a third lower than the same top percentile had in 1970." Does the frame of reference of the rich change so rapidly that they need progressively lower tax burdens in order to be satisfied with their economic situation?
Given the equalizing effect of the bipartisan composition of the major centers of American government power surely Republicans acknowledge the fact that compromises are going to have to be made (and not just by Democrats). Republicans, if you are so desperate for tax cuts, why is giving a tax cut to 98% of the nation’s citizens not enough?
Furthermore, are you really confident enough in the stimulative effects of tax cuts for the rich to be willing to bet that the massive cuts to government revenue that would be realized by extending the Bush tax cuts (BTCs) will not further enflame what some in your party are calling a fiscal crisis. If so, what justifies your confidence? According to Paul Krugman in "Let’s Not Make a Deal", "We’re talking about almost $4 trillion in lost revenue just over the next decade; over the next 75 years, the revenue loss would be more than three times the entire projected Social Security shortfall" (We’re talking about almost $4 trillion in lost revenue just over the next decade; over the next 75 years, the revenue loss would be more than three times the entire projected Social Security shortfall).
And if Republicans are so tough on crime, why does your party not make a concerted effort to investigate what James K. Galbraith in "Who’s Side is the White House On" called "the greatest wave of financial fraud in our history" and which has "gone largely uninvestigated and unpunished..." Surely the funds gained from recovery and fining the perpetrators of these crimes, which may have involved substantial sums of money, could help ease the deficit problem.
Perhaps the most fundamental question that I think should be asked of Republicans is: why are you unconcerned about income inequality? As pointed out by Nicholas Kristof in "A Hedge Fund Republic?" in 2007 one percent of the American population controlled 24 percent of American income and currently the top one percent own 34 percent of America’s private net worth, with the bottom 90 percent owning a scant 29 percent. Kristof went on to ask another important question, "At a time of such stunning inequality, should Congress put priority on spending $700 billion on extending the Bush tax cuts to those with incomes above $250,000 a year?"
What are your questions for Republicans?