Government's 'compromise'... take or take more...

Thomas Jefferson warned us that "the natural tendency of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield". It sure seems like he's right a lot. Maybe part of the problem is because government doesn't really understand how to compromise.

This article calls for a compromise between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress in order to pass the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The 'compromise' involves deciding how much more the taxpayers are going to have to come up with to fund the program, once they discover that the new cigarette taxes won't cover the cost. It might cost us $5 billion more, or $30 billion more, or $80 billion more, depending on which 'compromise' plan they decide on.

Hoosier politicians are going to spend the next few years working on some kind of 'compromise' on how to extract money from the public, juggling property taxes, income taxes and sales taxes. Whatever plan they decide on, we know the final outcome is going to result in higher overall taxes and more government. When was the last time a 'compromise' between the two parties resulted in an actual reduction, instead of just a reduction in growth?

True compromise requires some mutual give and take. Government compromise consists of all the give coming from the taxpayers, and all of the take coming from the politicians.