The Curious Case Of The Expiring Tax Cuts
“Populus vult decipi, decipiatur”.
They came into life in the most curious way. First, as the most noble of proposals to give back to the people what was rightfully theirs (after all lets not forget we had a budget surplus), and then by the way of a curious piece of circular argument as necessary to stimulate the economy in a recession. A thing can be both high and low at the same time; there is never a bad time for an expiring tax cut.
And so in the middle of night folks reconciled themselves even as others most wisely implored, “how can this thing be both high and low”? And yet the men behind the curtain inveighed, “do not be alarmed, an expiring tax cut is a thing of beauty, and soon you will find that all is well and good”. And the people followed them down the rabbit hole.
Overtime the expiring tax cut folded in on itself and no longer could hide that it was a really huge sucking deficit increasing machine. Folks plain and simple began to wonder why it was that the deficit grew larger while the men behind the curtains built houses yet grander still even as they advocated for ever more various and wonderful tax cuts. And the men behind the curtains distanced themselves from the small people whose boats did not float and their houses were underwater.
And then the most curious thing happened; it was posited fairly and balancedly that you could not expire an expiring tax during the time of a really great recession because to expire an expiring tax cut would cause the world to wobble on its axis. And the people were sore afraid as they had nothing to fear but fear itself.
And the men behind their curtains slowly exhaled, because as it turns out that you can fool enough people enough of the time, and whispered to themselves “Populus vult decipi, decipiatur”*. And the men behind the curtains smiled a knowing smile and ordered up more smoke and mirrors curiously enough made in China.
*The people wish to be deceived, let them be deceived.
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