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December 17, 2004
Reagan the Tax-Raiser (Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps?)
Kevin Drum tells the story of Reagan the tax-raiser:
The Washington Monthly: Reagan didn't grow his way out of the deficits caused by his 1981 tax cut... he raised taxes twice in 1982, and then raised them again in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987. But even with those seven tax increases and several years of strong growth, he still didn't get rid of his deficit. It took an eighth tax hike from George Bush Sr. in 1989, a ninth in 1990, a tenth from Bill Clinton in 1993, and then another economic boom to erase the deficit. Sure, a strong economy helped, but without all those tax increases the deficit would never have disappeared.
So why don't more people understand this? I think it's because no one wants them to. Republicans don't like to talk about this because it ruins the conservative foundational myth of Reagan the tax cutter as well as the policy myth of tax cuts as the engine of economic growth. They prefer to preserve the mythology. Democrats, for their part, like to portray Reagan as an inflexible and simpleminded ideologue, and admitting that he raised taxes several times doesn't fit their myth...
I think Kevin is simply wrong, and has fallen victim to the inside-the-beltway "every story must blame both parties" disease. (How he has managed to do this telecommuting from Orange County is a mystery.)
Democrats like the idea of Reagan the rigid fool, but they like the idea of Reagan the liar even more. Every Democrat I know tells reporters early and often that Reagan raised taxes a bunch of times.
So why doesn't the message get through? Because our lousy press corps believes that it has to present the Democratic side and the Republican side of every issue, and pretend that each has equal credibility. Democrats say, "Reagan reduced personal income taxes, especially for the upper brackets, raised payroll taxes, and raised corporate taxes." Republicans say, "Reagan cut your taxes." And reporters write, "Both parties agree that Reagan reduced taxes."
Posted by DeLong at December 17, 2004 11:04 AM
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Comments
Hmmm, I have a feeling you hang out with much smarter Democrats than me. But then again, the ones I hang out with aren't the ones who spend time talking to reporeters, either....
Posted by: Kevin Drum at December 17, 2004 11:18 AM
Memories (like people) CAN be deceptive. That's why I did a little research on the first really big battle of the so-called 'culture wars'--the so-called 'triumph' of Reagan's so-called 'supply side', so-called 'economic revolution' during the early years of the 1980's:
PL 97-34, the so-called "Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981". (Note 1)
No matter what "every Democrat [Brad knows] tells" ANYBODY, the Democratic Party's so-called 'establishment' rolled over for THAT one like the 120 year-old whores they were before FDR 'reinvented' them during the Great Depression.
Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) SPONSORED Reagan's 'revolution' in the House. The eventual 'conference report' passed THERE by a 282 - 95 vote. In the Senate final score was 67-8....
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1. "Bill Summary & Status for the 97th Congress: H.R.4242"
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d097:9:./temp/~bd6GPI:@@@X
Posted by: Mike at December 17, 2004 02:44 PM
P.S.
The declining (political--most definitely NOT personal) fortunes of many so-called 'national' Democrats--AS WELL AS the 'soaring' Federal budget AND TRADE deficits--since August of 1981 ARE NOT illusions, delusions OR accidents, even if they ARE 'historical'.
Posted by: Mike at December 17, 2004 03:21 PM
"Democrats say, "Reagan reduced personal income taxes, especially for the upper brackets, raised payroll taxes, and raised corporate taxes." Republicans say, "Reagan cut your taxes." And reporters write, "Both parties agree that Reagan reduced taxes." "
If the economics profession could clearly explain the implications of deficits, tax cuts, etc. on the economy maybe the reporters would ask the "experts" for clarification.
Posted by: Winslow R. at December 17, 2004 03:33 PM
You confused me for a second. When you said, "I think Kevin is simply wrong," at first I thought you meant his first paragraph on how the deficit disappeared.
Posted by: fling93 at December 17, 2004 05:25 PM