Dec. 13, 2018 — When President George H.W. Bush was laid to rest earlier this month, the remembrances appropriately remarked on his general decency and competence. In public commentary, the encomiums tend to be followed by a “but.” For journalists and historians, it is “but he was only a one-term president.” He lost the election of 1992, in part because of the recession of 1990-91. For members of his own political party, the “but” is, “but he broke with the legacy of Ronald Reagan and with his own ‘no new taxes’ pledge.” They have always blamed his failure to win re-election on that perceived betrayal.
Tag Archives: fiscal
Trump’s Fiscal Brainstorm: Cut Taxes for the Rich
(Aug. 26, 2016) This year’s US presidential election campaign differs radically from past patterns, including in the departure of the Republican nominee from many of the policy positions traditionally taken by his party. Examples are his lack of support for international trade, military alliances, or the institution of marriage. But when Donald Trump released some positions on tax policy recently, the differences with Hillary Clinton’s proposals fell very much along usual party lines. His is the kind of tax policy that has long been favored by Republican presidential candidates and congressmen: tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the rich and that are not accompanied with any plans to pay for them.