Political Cartoon Analysis

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        In this political cartoon there is use of southern English which symbolizes the South where majority of Republicans are from. The use of this different dialect helps the viewer understand that the man in the cartoon is from the south hence representing Republicans. This image depicts the bill that Republicans voted for to give multi-millionaires and billionaires tax breaks.

        The cat is labelled as jobless benefits which Republicans avidly oppose against. The cat is at the edge of the row boat wide eyed and looks scared since cats are scared of water. Republicans for a long time have blocked extensions for benefits for the unemployed. The cat symbolizes the unemployed and that they need help and might fall off into the unknown of the bayou below.

In contrast, the crocodile’s size is exaggerated and is labeled as tax cuts for the wealthy. The crocodile is so big it is tilting the tiny row boat and obviously causing it to sink. The crocodile ironically has a relaxed face and is sitting comfortably on the feeble boat. I feel like the cartoonist was trying to get at the fact that tax cuts for the wealthy have such a well-established support from republicans that they are not worried that that privilege will ever go away, even if it is causing the federal deficit to increase.

The old man in in the boat with his mouth open wide is clearly yelling at the little cat forgetting about the huge fat carnivorous crocodile which is sinking his boat. The federal deficit increases whenever the government spends more than it makes and with every legislation the deficit increases. The man refers to the cat as too much weight which represents the republican ideology that unemployment benefits increase the federal deficit while ignoring how much tax cuts for the wealthy increases the deficit instead.

Early 2014 Republicans in the senate voted for a bill called “Death Tax Repeal Act”. This bill benefits multi-millionaires and billionaires. If that wasn’t shocking enough the amount of the tax break would have been $269 billion to only the top 0.02% of the population (1). Almost all law making Republicans in the senate voted for it while all democrats opposed it. Around that same time that year the Democrats proposed a bill to help the unemployed by giving them more benefits since a lot of unemployed people’s benefits were stopped since the recession. Republicans opposed it giving the federal deficit as an excuse. Republicans believe helping the long term unemployed would increase the federal deficit. “The better way to go is to not add to the deficit in an irresponsible way," GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois (2)  This statement is very contradicting since the bill Republicans proposed cost much more than  the jobless benefits bill. This cartoon represents a liberal view since it is against wealthy people from getting tax breaks and it supports unemployed people to get benefits. The cartoon is against the conservative view point and the cartoonist is trying to express their disapproval. Generally, democrats uphold liberal principle so it is safe to assume the cartoonist is a democrat who is clearly against the republicans’ conservative views on what really increases the federal deficit.