The GOP mantra continues: "Don't raise taxes during a recession." A more fiscally sound mantra would be: "Don't cut taxes in time of war." The truth of the matter is the GOP wants the ill-advised tax cuts made permanent for everyone and would never raise taxes in any kind of economic environment.
I am reminded of the time when the conservative Wall Street Journal warned President Clinton in editorials that his raising taxes would crush the economy. To their credit the Journal editors apologized to Clinton after he raised taxes and the economy and the stock market had one of their best multi-year runs in history. Clinton even left a budget surplus, unlike his GOP predecessors, President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush, and his successor, President George W. Bush, who presided over a $5 trillion increase in the national debt.
As far as the absolutely certain rhetoric about not raising taxes in a recession, if any of the loudest political spokesmen and screaming talk-show hosts had sensed or predicted the worst economy and crash since the 1930s, we certainly would have an open mind to that voice now.
Jim Waldo
Duluth
