Why do I never see anyone counter this myth of Reagan the tax raiser? If someone lowers the rate from 70 to 28%, and then increases it a couple percent, are they a tax cutter or a tax raiser? Also did those increases not coincide with a commitment to real spending cuts? Where are Obama’s cuts? He refuses.
Our side refuses to stay on the offensive.
Worse than that - in order to get the “Reagan raised taxes eleven times” they really need some creative accounting.
It would be as if tax rates were lowered for everyone, but eleven different exemptions were eliminated - the story the media would push (if you were a Republican) was that you raised taxes eleven times - despite everyone actually paying a lower % of their income in taxes than before.
“Also did those increases not coincide with a commitment to real spending cuts?”
On Reagan’s part. Not on the part of the Democrats who tricked him. Let that be an object lesson.
Toss in the fact that TEFRA and DEFRA were Bob Dole's handiwork. My personal opinion is that they were Big Bob's contribution to disciplining the Gipper, that you don't do tax cuts unless Big Bob is on board and "in the room".
MHO.
But those were Congressional tax bills, so I don't know where Madcow gets off assigning to Reagan and the Reaganauts like Wanniski and Laffer responsibility for bills run out by the Old Woman School of GOP Fiscal Wisdom.