Capitol Ideas/Guidelines for President Bush
Bethell, Tom
CAPITOL IDEAS GUIDELINES FOR PRESIDENT BUSH by Tom Bethell fight years ago I offered congratulations to President-elect Ronald Reagan, happy as I then was to see the last of Jimmy Carter. That...
...Republicans should enjoy having the upper hand, rhetorically...
...Today there is a trillion-dollar tax pot in Washington, with 535 congressmen and senators enjoying exclusive rights to siphon as much as they can out of this common pot and back into the pockets of their constituents and campaign contributors...
...FINALLY, A WAY TO DOUBLE YOUR READING TIME COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED BOOKS ON CASSETTE TAPES Low Introductory Prices are Being Offered on these Conservative Classics A s for military spending: First of all, let us stop calling it defense spending...
...But such a reform, I fear, is very far from becoming a reality...
...We cannot accuse the West Europeans of not being serious about their defense...
...No...
...All that is required is for Bush to wield the veto and to relish the prospect of painting his opponents as greedily trying to reach into the taxpayers' pockets once more...
...Again, a "public choice" analysis helps...
...The first should be easiest for Bush in view of his "no tax increase" pledge...
...We pay their bills and they pay the Soviets' bills-that's the way it's shaping up...
...9.95 We ship within 24 hours of receipt of order...
...And 7 Ancient Roman Coins THE WASHINGTON MINT PROUDLY ANNOUNCES ITS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING OF 950 SUPERBLY PRESERVED COINS OF THE ANCIENT ROMAN EMPIRE 2 A recently discovered private cache of ancient coins from the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I (the Great) has now been authenticated and certified by The Washington Mint...
...Special Discounts: The following discount prices apply for customers placing quantity orders: Three Roman Coins for $165.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $270.00) Five Roman Coins for $415.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $420.00) Ten Roman Coins for $790.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $795.00) Order Instructions: All mail orders must be accompanied by a check or money order for the full amount...
...There would be a "socialism crisis...
...Just so long as it's a big fat amount, most conservatives are happy...
...of paper and attach to 1 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JANUARY 1989 13...
...They are perfectly serious...
...It's time to put a stop to it, and on this issue, I suspect, U.S...
...The U.S...
...Total: $97.50...
...Coin Description and Condition: Each coin from this cache was minted during the reign of Constantine the Great, and each features his portrait...
...A President who strives to enlarge the common pool by agreeing to new taxes does not thereby "solve" the "deficit crisis" but permits it to continue indefinitely...
...Among conservatives in 1980 there was far more euphoria than I detect today...
...If the liberals came after him, he would have only two courses of action: capitulation, or reliance on conservative policies and advisers...
...The U.S...
...If the liberals, in their fury, make that conflict inevitable, they will have done us all a great favor...
...There are three key issues: impose no new taxes...
...Purchase $22.95 30 Day Rental $11.95 1006 MARXISM-Thomas Sowell 6 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes...
...What has changed in eight years...
...VISA ^ MASTERCARD ^ Check or money order Acct...
...Members of recipient groups, at the receiving end of congressional siphoning operations, are called "needy...
...In the present arrangement there are three key words (I am indebted to Joe Sobran for pointing this out): needy, greedy, and compassionate...
...Now, some of the liberals, enraged by Bush's victory, are promising to exact "revenge...
...Taxpayers, on the other hand, whose contribution to the Republic is to send ever-expanding slices of their income to Washington every year, are perennial defendants...
...He recently contributed the preface to The Campaign for Human Development: Christian Charity or Political Activism...
...Notice that a fairly simple reform would rapidly bring this lawless spending of other peoples' money under control: billing taxpayers in each congressional district in the same proportion that the congressman votes for spending bills...
...Few churchmen understand it, or have ever had it explained to them, but perhaps we can begin to hope that Republicans in the White House will grasp the point...
...Meanwhile, our thanks to Mr...
...A fiscally conservative candidate who vows in his campaign not to spend the taxpayers' money recklessly merely signals to the voters that he will be leaving more to be grabbed by the remaining legislators, who have bound themselves by no such promise...
...The Washington Mint will provide certification of authenticity to accompany each Roman Coin...
...They should not merely win but enjoy doing so...
...Those who advocate increased income redistribution should be called "socialists...
...The first and, I should suppose, the last...
...Of late the "defense" budget has been declining...
...If for any reason they resist sending more income to Washington, vote for tax-cuts or whatever, they are called "greedy...
...is The American Spectator's Washington correspondent...
...We should get our forces out of Japan, out of South Korea, out of West Germany, and out of Britain...
...r 1013 MY DEAR...
...The Army...
...8.95 1016 THE SECRET OF FATHER BROWN-G.K...
...And that is where the President comes in: he can veto tax bills...
...Above all, we should stop bribing foreign governments to be permitted to pay the cost of defending1007 GOD AND MAN AT YALE-Wm...
...III Address: (When ordering more than 3 books, list on a blank piece L City: State Zip Phone this order form...
...Conservatives must learn to take the offensive...
...It's just that they know we'll pay for it...
...These people call one another "compassionate...
...As former Education Secretary William Bennett said, it's either that or play defense...
...attitude toward Western Europe is that of a demented utility company faced with a chronically delinquent customer...
...Purchase $24.95 30 Day Rental $12.95 1005 MEN AND MARRIAGE-George Gilder 6 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $24.95 30 Day Rental $12.95 1003 A CONFLICT OF VISIONS-Thomas Sowell 5 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $22.95 30 Day Rental $12.95 1001 COMPASSION VERSUS GUILT-Thomas Sowell 5 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $22.95 30 Day Rental $11.95 1014 RED HORIZONS-Lt...
...Box 969, Ashland, Qty Item# Title of Book Rent Purchase Total ^ Send Name: Handling: $3.50 me your catalog in Spring 89' Shipping & Total: OR 97520...
...Conservatives should not view this with alarm...
...This was supposed to have been "their" year...
...He was the first Roman Emperor to adopt Christianity, and in so doing, he changed the course of Western Civilization...
...At an election-night victory party held at Richard Vigueries headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, both Viguerie and Conservative Caucus Chairman Howard Phillips were delighted at the prospect of liberal wrath to follow...
...On the contrary, they should see it as an opportunity: We should let the Pentagon know that we will not start clamoring for more until the Joint Chiefs get it into their heads that the country must be defended...
...UPS 2nd Day Air Service is available (Add $3.00 Per Book) Expiration Date: Signature: Send order to Classics On Tape, P.O...
...For we have no defense...
...Historical Data: Ancient Rome established the tradition of featuring "royal" portraits in coins, and the coins of the Roman Empire feature some of the most famous men in history...
...Restrictions: A limit of ten coins per order will be strictly enforced, and all orders are subject to acceptance by The Washington Mint...
...Bush would be capable of no such legerdemain...
...Dept...
...Finally there are those (Michael Kinsley is an example) who argue loudly and endlessly that the "greedy" should be forced to contribute more for the upkeep of the "needy...
...Liberal Democrats fill the bill...
...8.95 1008 AMBASSADOR IN PARIS: The Reagan Years--Evan Galbraith 4 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $18.95 30 Day Rental...
...Strategically Vital Spots...
...And they know because we keep telling them...
...Here, then, are one or two moral guidelines...
...A "common pool" of resources to be apportioned politically, without well-defined rules or "property rights," encourages greed as a matter of mere self-interest or survival...
...Mainland defense has been so much left out of the picture that it can now only be incorporated into the military budget at the expense of existing fiefdoms, baronies, and services...
...Does this not tell us better than anything the true nature of the times we live in...
...The Washington Mint will accept orders on a strict FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis according to the postmark date of mail orders and the TIME and DATE of telephone orders...
...If a large group of communards eat from a common pot every night, greedy, hunger-take-thehindmost eating will become the rule rather than the exception...
...Taxes would be low in the districts of parsimonious congressmen...
...Henceforth there would not be a "deficit crisis...
...But they do also want someone else to do his best to constrain the overall size of the pool by making it as difficult as possible for new revenues to flow to Washington...
...Big-spending congressmen would then be hitting their constituents where it hurt most: in Form 1040...
...Bush...
...new taxes will merely mean a larger pool to siphon from...
...But Pentagon judgment must now be questioned...
...That was long before Reagan won the Strange New Respect Award, of course...
...appoint pro-life judges...
...May I suggest the following change...
...R epublicans, as a rule, are insufficiently aware that they stand on moral high ground...
...Any spokesman for a recipient group who starts hollering for more support should be called "greedy...
...What is the conservative agenda...
...And, importantly, he reformed and strengthened the coinage system of the Empire...
...Choke Points...
...Who will give ground to make budgetary room for Strategic Defense...
...Today we all congratulate President-elect George Bush...
...I hereby record the prediction, and alert Mr...
...The Pentagon has now sloughed that off completely...
...conservatives could exercise real leverage...
...As far as I know, the worst offender in this regard is Herbert Stein, the American Enterprise Institute economist...
...9.95 1009 WEALTH AND POVERTY-George Gilder 10 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $39.95 30 Day Rental $15.95 1004-A MODERN TIMES I (read in 2 parts)-Paul Johnson 14 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $49.95 30 Day Rental $17.95 1004-B MODERN TIMES II-Paul Johnson 14 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $49.95 30 Day Rental $17.95 1002 CIVIL RIGHTS-Thomas Sowell 3 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $14.95 30 Day Rental...
...It's a lot of fun for big spenders in Congress to spend other people's money, but there's no reason why they should be called compassionate for doing so...
...George, be a Captain...
...1992 (although I doubt Jesse Jackson will countenance any such thing...
...But what we (or rather the world) get are far-flung bases and World War II-style war games ("Sea Lanes...
...Congress today is filled with big spenders because the old institutional restraints on spending broke down at the time of Watergate...
...We will be your willing crew.them...
...Kinsley (who is off to England for seven months to edit the "American Survey" section of the Economist) predicts capitulation...
...ALEX: Letters to the KGB-D'Souza & Fossedal 3 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $14.95 30 Day Rental...
...Meanwhile, may I suggest a change in language...
...The Guarantee: The Washington Mint completely insures satisfaction with a 30-day, money-back guarantee...
...Since nothing will have been done to limit the formation of congressional spending majorities on behalf of a never-ending variety of claimants (farmers, the homeless, people with AIDS, people who are earning-impaired by virtue of being on welfare already, etc...
...This happened in the guise of reform, incidentally...
...Credit card customers are advised to place their orders by calling: Toll Free 1-800-228-2323 (24 Hours a Day) Check and money order customers should send their orders directly to: The Washington Mint, Inc...
...The superb condition of the coins indicates that they were buried soon after being minted, as there is virtually no wear whatsoever...
...by William T Poole and Thomas W Pauken, a monograph published by the Capital Research Center (1612 K Street, NW, Suite 704, Washington, DC 20006...
...During his extraordinay lifetime, Constantine reorganized the Empire, repelled the invading Goths and established the new Roman capital of Constantinople...
...Reagan had suckered the conservatives into thinking he was one of them...
...Alas, what conservatives need is what they so conspicuously lacked in the Reagan years: leadership...
...Everything else (including contra aid) is secondary...
...The problem is that, so often in the past, they have shrunk from the indispensable conflict that must precede victory...
...But that may just be wishful thinking...
...If the former, Bush will sink without a trace...
...And yes, West Germany shouldbe permitted to acquire nuclear weapons if it wants them...
...5 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes...
...Anyone who thinks that the Nazis will re-emerge from Munich beer cellars should be offered free psychiatric assistance...
...One of Rome's most remarkable leaders was emperor Constantine the Great (307-337), a man who left an indelible mark on world history...
...Quayle to the liberal perception that he can be bullied into adopting their policies...
...Like it or not, we still live in the age of socialism...
...Sale Price: Each Ancient Roman Coin is priced at $95.00 plus $2.50 for postage, handling and insurance...
...OR CALL (503) 776-5179 Method of Payment...
...move toward the deployment of Strategic Defense...
...Perhaps they could find some congressmen who will represent their interests...
...A special public sale of these ancient Roman coins begins TODAY...
...What an odd prospect for "conservatives" to relish, by the way...
...Perhaps understandably, conservatives tend to think: the Pentagon knows best...
...In view of this arrangement, lawless in its essence, voters rationally elect THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JANUARY 1989 11 representatives who promise not to be shy about joining in the general siphoning operations (i.e., by joining in an endless array of coalitions in order to form the necessary majority...
...complete with World War II weapons: battleships, tanks, and bombers...
...Chesterton 5 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $22.95 30 Day Rental $11.95 1018 CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS - Kipling 4 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $18.95 30 Day Rental...
...Notice the word "relish...
...Ditto the Japanese...
...Again, this entails recognizing once and for all that World War II really is over...
...This is the essence of the moral case against collectivism...
...But Bush unfairly beat them with "negative campaigning," meaning he pointed out that their man was a liberal, something they had hoped to conceal with the connivance of the news media...
...Indeed, the coins from this cache show almost no sign of wear at all...
...Incidentally, Michael Kinsley of the New Republic predicts that Dan Quayle will end up winning the award...
...The U.S...
...He campaigned so unambiguously on the point that any retreat would be a serious setback...
...The Air Force...
...Each one of these magnificent glossy bronze coins is over 16 centuries old, yet each remains in superb condition...
...If the latter, he can prevail in the policy arena as successfully as he did in the electoral...
...There was at that time a far greater sense that real change was possible...
...Far too many conservatives think only in terms of a "bottom line," or aggregate spending total: $300 billion, or whatever it now is...
...The U.S...
...Aslong as what is laughably called the "budget" is arranged as a common pool, with siphoning privileges accorded to any coalition of congressmen who constitute a majority, then people will tend to vote for "greedy" legislators...
...General Ion Mihai Pacepa 10 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $39.95 30 Day Rental $15.95 1010 THE REVOLT OF THE MASSES - -Jose Ortega Y Gasset 5 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $22.95 30 Day Rental $11.95 1012 THE SECRET WAR AGAINST HITLER--William Casey 6 - 1 1/2 hour cassettes Purchase $24.95 30 Day Rental $12.95 An Ideal Gift Listen while commuting, jogging, gardening, skiing or maybe while sitting by the fire...
...Perhaps the fake, papered-over unity of the Reagan years would come unglued at last...
...could not prevent a bomber attack today, let alone a missile attack...
...Very little attention has been paid to the way the money is spent...
...Please pay your bill," we tell them...
...public choice" economists call this "logrolling...
...has to be the first major power in history to pay other countries to defend them, rather than be paid by them...
...Ron was the figurehead at the prow, not the captain on the bridge...
...1988 The Washington Mint 12 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JANUARY 1989 beleaguered taxpayers might reasonably plead that they are "needy...
...Looked at this way, not only would it not be "responsible" of George Bush to raise taxes, as he is already being urged to do, it would be the height of irresponsibility for him to do so...
...201, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW Washington, DC 20009 Not affiliated with the United States Government, The Washington Mint is one of America's foremost private mints...
...Whatever follows, we are grateful at least that Michael Dukakis has been sent back to Boston...
...And while we're talking defense, we need to put civil defense back on the agenda as well...
...Who knows, maybe he will be the Democratic nominee once again in Tom Bethel...
...And if you don't . . . why, if you don't . . . we'll pay it for you...
...This would restore responsibility to the system and government spending would collapse overnight...
...F. Buckley, Jr...
...Each one of the 950 coins in this cache were struck at the Mint of Sircia between 330-337 and each measures approximately 17mm in diameter...
...What is needed is mainland defense...
Vol. 22 • January 1989 • No. 1
