The Origin of the Tea Party Movement
There are activists in the Tea Party movement who are unaware of when the movement began, and why. This video explains both.
The issue is about more than taxes — just as the original tea party was. It’s about cutting spending.
Because it is about cutting spending, there are fissures within the movement. As with all political movements, the coalition includes recipients of government welfare. The recipients are not willing to give up their income from the government. Social Security and Medicare — the two projects most likely to bankrupt the government — are often defended by Tea Party advocates.
Defense spending, which is really war spending, is another sacred cow.
The question is this: If one group’s sacred cow is allowed to be fattened by federal payments, Congress will play off group against group. This is what it has done ever since 1936. The result is that spending never goes down. The government then borrows to fund its operations. The Federal Reserve then creates fiat money to help fund this deficit.
Sacred cows are bankrupting the government.
When Washington’s checks start bouncing, Tea Party members who really were in favor of spending cuts will be in a position to take leadership positions in the post-default Republican Party.
At every level of politics, anti-spending Tea Party people will be in a position to re-shape American politics.
Consistency matters.
This will take time. For as long as the government remains solvent, most voters will accept rising deficits. Congress will run them. Congress has no intention of losing votes by slaughtering sacred cows. The voters will get their way. But the deficits will eventually overwhelm the government. That is when the turning point will come: either hyperinflation or default.
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Posted on May 3, 2012. The original is here.