Marco Rubio and GOP Leaders Should Stand Firm to No-Tax Pledge

Woven into the story of the fiscal cliff fight is Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge that many congressional Republicans have signed, promising not to agree to tax hikes. But do constituents want their representatives to compromise or stick to their vows? Here's one voter's take.

COMMENTARY | As a resident of southwest Florida, I am represented in Congress by Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Tom Rooney. Both are members of the Republican Party who pledged, to Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, to oppose increases of marginal tax rates.

Yet, with President Obama's re-election, calls for tax increases on the wealthy have swelled. The impending "fiscal cliff," which would implement automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, has only strengthened this drumbeat. In fact, several Republicans have warmed to tax hikes as part of an economic package in violation of their prior commitment.

I urge Sen. Rubio and Rep. Rooney to stand firm and thus far they have. Even if applying pragmatism, this is a bogus deal and a continuation of the class warfare that has benefited the president. Obama's own proposal concedes the annual additional of only $150 billion to federal coffers.

Meanwhile, America faces a budget deficit in excess of $1 trillion for the past four years. Tax hikes are a flawed means to means to address the problem -- a drop in a bucket of debt. Avoiding the fiscal cliff must involve real spending cuts and Obama has balked by taking entitlement programs like Medicare off the table. Furthermore, though tax increases target a limited population, the policy will hamper overall economic growth.

Violating the Norquist pledge is a mistake that would cost my support, especially if made under false pretenses. Only if the president first demonstrates necessary spending cuts should my leaders in Washington consider the revenue side of the budget.

Jeff Briscoe is an attorney and writer from Port Charlotte, Fla., who regularly contributes to Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marco-rubio-gop-leaders-stand-firm-no-tax-205000875.html

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