Where are the "Tax and Spend" Liberals?

American conservatives like to demonize "tax and spend" liberals (with a small-L). I never quite followed this argument, as just the phrase itself was all that was offered. One supposes the that the inference is that the silly liberals will raise taxes and spend the money on silly things like magic beads.

To some degree this must have caught on in Australia because even Labor politicians talk about the "tax burden", as if trying to avoid the tax-n-spend label themselves. The way I see it, that's what a government does - levies taxes, and spends them on services the country needs. The tax rates should be fair - we need prosperity and consumer activity a lot more than we need communism these days. Both society and the economy benefit, however, from a functioning base of social services and solid infrastructure (and I think, benefit much more than the "trickle down" effect of tax cuts to the wealthy).

At the current time, nobody is complaining about too many services or too much investment in infrastructure. But by adopting the government's rhetoric, the ALP are in danger of painting themselves into a corner when it comes to maintaining the correct tax level. I'm looking forward to seeing Labor's tax policy, and hope it doesn't contain tax cuts. I am sure the public would rather see hospitals and schools improved than get $10 week back, and Labor should know that.