'1984' in 2013

In George Orwell's "1984" the government often tells citizens it is doing one thing — and then completely does another.

Their government would rewrite history to serve its own end.

For months lawmakers have been ranting about how preventing tax hikes and spending cuts as part of the dreaded fiscal cliff would save the nation from certain recession. The deal they forged a few days ago was said to prevent tax increases.


The first paycheck of the year for practically everyone will be less — because taxes were raised after the deal. No spending cuts were implemented.

Orwell would say that the citizens of Oceana have been fooled again.

Taxes are higher because President Obama's 2-percent Social Security tax holiday, enacted in 2010, was allowed to expire. Some say this isn't a true tax hike because the break was never intended to be permanent. But lawmakers never mentioned this little gem when touting the New Year's deal they made that was said to have saved the economy from certain doom.

It is true that the 2-percent hike is little compared to what tax rates would have been should the Bush-era tax cuts have been allowed to expire. But the American public deserves more honesty from politicians.

After both parties bantered for months about how they have to better control government spending and protect the middle class from tax increases — their deal accomplished little other than to let taxes increase for most Americans.

That simply wasn't part of the billing.

(Rick Kazmer is the Daily American's city editor. He can be reached at rickk@dailyamerican.com. )