Great.  The Raw Story reports on a hearing last Thursday in which a David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, warned that repairing the damage from the Bush economy could require drastic actions over the coming decades: 

While he acknowledged the single-year fiscal improvement touted by the Bush administration for 2006, he said that "it did not fundamentally change our long-term fiscal outlook." He also noted that since 2000, America's net social insurance commitments and other fiscal obligations have increased to $50 trillion from $20 trillion, representing four times the nation's total economic output. Rising national health care costs are the greatest culprit according to data collected by Walker's agency. 

The head of the GAO also warned that if no action is taken now to control government spending, severe tax hikes could be necessary. He stated that, "balancing the budget in 2040 could require actions as large as cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or raising federal taxes to 2 times today’s level." 

Remember, this is not some partisan alarmist, but rather the Comptroller General.  You know, the guy who would actually know something about the trajectory of our economy.  If he is warning that we might have to double taxes or half spending, you’d better take him seriously. 

I’ve never been quite clear on why the GOP has declared war on taxation.  The only perceivable benefit is in absorbing a quickie popularity boost when people are duped into believing that keeping more of their paycheck is synonymous with having more money.  Yet the inevitable recessions of tax less / spend more policies consistently has the opposite effect and the GOP reaps the electoral mess. 

Myself, I’m a big fan of taxation.  True, I have significant concerns about the way they are disseminated (not such a fan of our bloated private defense infrastructure).  But I like driving on nice roads, having a well-trained fire department, availing of free public education, and knowing that the lowest economic rung will still enjoy at least minimal security and not be forced to rob me for crack money.  I have neither the expertise nor the desire to accomplish these things on my own and am all too happy to outsource them to a centralized administration under meaningful citizen oversight.  How the GOP has managed to convince ordinarily intelligent voters that taxation and personal fulfillment are mutually exclusive is one of the great mysteries in modern US politics.