Sounding Like He Is
Running, that is. Fred Thompson has an op-ed in the Opinion Journal today that sounds very much like the first message in a run for the Republican nomination. He's discussing tax cuts and the positive benefits cutting taxes has had on the economy. Simply put, lower taxes equal robust growth in the economy.
It's that time again, and I was thinking of the old joke about paying your taxes with a smile. The punch line is that the IRS doesn't accept smiles. They want your money.
So it's not that funny, but there is reason to smile this tax season. 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.
In fact, Treasury statistics show that tax revenues have soared and the budget deficit has been shrinking faster than even the optimists projected. Since the first tax cuts were passed, when I was in the Senate, the budget deficit has been cut in half.
Remarkably, this has happened despite the financial trauma of 9/11 and the cost of the War on Terror. The deficit, compared to the entire economy, is well below the average for the last 35 years and, at this rate, the budget will be in surplus by 2010.
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.
The richest 1% of Americans now pays 35% of all income taxes. The top 10% pay more taxes than the bottom 60%.
This sounds very much like a campaign issue he wants to use. It would be a good one,too.
Other Links to this Post
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Fred Thompson: the New Reagan « Michael P.F. van der Galiën — April 15, 2007 @ 6:27 am
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The Mahablog » Shameless Hustles and Tax Cuts — April 15, 2007 @ 9:48 am
By daveinboca, April 15, 2007 @ 10:22 am
Good to see Fred Thompson actually understands what the real issue is here. The US has a formula for growth that relies on relatively low rates of taxation. If taxes rise, as they have in the EU, econ stagnation ensues and growth stops. A rising tide…….
The Dems have no response to this eminently rational policy other than to promote class warfare by stating that some incomes grow far less than others. And a potpourri of stats that no one fact-checks. Read the New Yorker to see how far fact-checking has become lost art.