Apr 6, 2023 3 min read

Culture war distractions

Recent articles in the Observer-Reporter about government-funded services go a long way in explaining the current state and tactics of the Republican Party.

A recent front-page article outlined a Washington Chamber of Commerce roundtable discussion that centered on the importance of recreational amenities in growing a community. Another front-page article outlined road projects funded by President Biden’s infrastructure law. Also, recent letters on these pages have called for more funding for dementia caregivers and for people in nursing homes. All of these issues seem to have broad support, because there are needs for these services.

Of course, the aforementioned programs and services all qualify as “socialism,” as does Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, game lands, public education, and more. True conservatives are against such programs because of their belief in limited government. Conservative opposition to social programs goes back decades and is baked into the Republican Party. Therein lies the rub; conservatives are philosophically opposed to government programs, but voters like, want, and need such programs. Republicans can’t honestly discuss their opposition to these programs, lest they be voted out en masse.

Instead, they either lie about their past statements and current intentions, or distract by engaging in culture wars. Don’t be fooled, cutting these programs is exactly what they want. There is just too much evidence of statements against, for example, Social Security and Medicaid. Currently, Republicans have suggested raising the retirement age to 70 for Social Security. However, it is telling that few Republican legislators support another proposed solution to help keep Social Security solvent. This proposal involves lifting the cap on income taxed for Social Security. Currently, the tax is capped at $160,200 of yearly income. This means that a person earning above $160,200 dollars pays no further Social Security taxs, even if their yearly income is $160 million. Per experts, increasing the tax cap would significantly improve the solvency of Social Security.

Polls show that most Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy, especially the very wealthy. Support is especially strong among the working poor who have increasingly supported Republicans.

If Republicans actually were looking after the economic interests of the working poor, they would propose solutions that actually benefit them. However, Republicans will probably not go against the interests of the wealthy. Rather, they will distract with culture war issues.

John Moretti

Claysville