I don’t think I have to go through the signs that the US economy is in trouble. Deficit spending is catching up with us in terms of inflation, and spending cuts are no where in site (are they ever?). In a family situation when faced with budgeting woes, two options are on the table… 1) Get more $$ 2.) Cut your spending. Well, in the American family, our government never considers option #2. The get more money part is so much easier. Even Ronald Reagan raised taxes (in every year of his administration except 1981 & 1988). Don’t believe me? I’ll remind you… 1982 Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, 1982 Highway Revenue Act, 1983 Social Security Tax increase (still with us!), and the list goes on… Still don’t believe me? Read here: http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp
My point is not that Reagan was a bad guy. Far from it, he didn’t want to increase taxes, but the economy was in a tail spin, not caused by his early tax cuts as some often say, but by high energy prices and record inflation, interest rates, and unemployment. My point, my esteemed colleagues is… It’s inevitable, and it’s going to happen again. The tax man cometh!! National Review’s Bruce Bartlett predicts Bush will be forced by current budgetary contstraints to sign into law a tax increase. In other words, Obama, Clinton, McCain… Fiscally it makes little difference apparently because they’ll all spend us into oblivion and come back for more. There seems to be no party that can get spending under control. Reagan promised a $3 spending cut for every $1 in taxes raised…. Did that happen…. drumroll… no. Will it happen in 2009? Certainly not with Obama or Clinton. There proposals call for hundreds of billions of dollars in Mass. style health care plans and new spending. Although McCain plays lip service to spending cuts, so did Bush… We all know what happened there.