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Tax Cuts Have Worked Geoff Metcalf "We have rarely been encouraged and equipped to appreciate the fact that the truth works . . ."
Toni Cade Bambara Some people just don't want to be confused with facts that contradict their preconceived opinions or prejudices. There, I said it again! Actor/pundit/former U.S. senator/probable presidential hopeful, Fred Thompson wrote a compelling piece in the Wall Street Journal that was, sadly, buried in their Saturday edition http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009940. Thompson observed that tax cuts work. Go figure. The facts are in, and the statistical analysis is irrefutable. "The results of the experiment that began when Congress passed a series of tax-rate cuts in 2001 and 2003 are in. Supporters of those cuts said they would stimulate the economy. Opponents predicted ever-increasing budget deficits and national bankruptcy unless tax rates were increased, especially on the wealthy." Story Continues Below
Guess what? The partisan opponents were wrong . . . big time. Despite the significant financial impacts of 9/11, and the subsequent (ongoing) war on terror, the deficit (compared to the whole economy) is way below the average for the past three and a half decades, and will probably result in a surplus by 2010 (if the pork barrel spending Congress can be reined). This is a big deal. Bigger than Don Imus getting hosed by a gutless radio management cabal . . . bigger even than the epic hypocrisy of Al (remember Tawana Brawley) Sharpton contributing to the Imus firings. The huge success of the tax cuts will be marginalized, minimized, and massaged like a Bill Clinton peccadillo, but it is huge. Thompson did a great job of capsulizing the success but you may not get to hear about it again until he eventually hits the campaign trail. As the former senator/Paul Harvey fill-in noted, "Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this success story is where the increased revenues are coming from. Critics claimed that across-the-board tax cuts were some sort of gift to the rich but, on the contrary, the wealthy are paying a greater percentage of the national bill than ever before." Isn't that what the dems were itching and moaning about? The rich are actually paying more. "The richest 1 percent of Americans now pays 35 percent of all income taxes. The top 10 percent pay more taxes than the bottom 60 percent." Thompson wrote. The reason for the result is precisely what supporters were arguing during the debate. Money has been invested in the economy and has created a vibrancy projected but discounted by duplicitous democrats. "Greater investment has created overall economic strength. Job growth is robust, overcoming trouble in the housing sector; and the personal incomes of Americans at every income level are higher than they've ever been." Thompson observed. So there! How will the Pelosi pack attack significant facts in evidence that they were flat out wrong? The tax cutters knew what they were doing because there is a historic record of empirical evidence to support the position. This really isn't a partisan bone. JFK (a democrat) was a supporter of tax cuts and understood that lower tax rates create economic growth. Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan (both republicans) likewise "got it." It ain't brain surgery. One man's pork is another man's bacon. In the wake of the partisan shift in power in Congress, democrats are salivating over the prospect of funding pork and ignoring the long-term problems they create. Party partisan "gotcha"/payback are more important to the Pelosi crowd than long term economic benefits. Fred observed, "This issue is particularly important now because massive, unfunded entitlements are coming due as the baby-boom generation retires. We simply cannot afford higher taxes if we want an economy able to bear up under the strain of those obligations. And beyond the issue of our annual federal budget is the nearly $9 trillion national debt that we have not even begun to pay off." This is a good point to send you to The National Debt Clock http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ again. There are over 301,619,715 people in the United States. Each citizen (man, woman, and child) owes $29,472.33. Since Sept. 29, 2006, the National Debt has increased an average of $1.93 billion per day. Even by congressional standards, that's a big bite (and it continues to accrue). The Concord Coalition http://www.concordcoalition.org has been screaming in the wilderness for years, but the liberal Democrats and their mainstream media coconspirators have pooh-poohed the very real threats. Sen. Thompson asked, "Those who say they want a 'more progressive' tax system should be asked one question: Are you really interested in tax rates that benefit the economy and raise revenue or are you interested in redistributing income for political reasons?" Sadly, he knows the answer better than most of us. Congress, especially this "Bush Bad"/neener-neener collection of partisan hacks, doesn't care jack about economic strength, as long as they can earmark and pork barrel their way to sustained incumbency. Meanwhile, the clock http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ keeps ticking off billions . . .
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