They were wrong. Massive deficits nearly tripled the national debt from $907 billion in 1980 to $2.6 trillion in 1988. When Bush dropped the top tax rate from 39.6% (under Clinton) to 35%, even as he initiated two wars, the resulting deficits raised the national debt from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to $10 trillion in 2008.
Nevertheless, on July 13 Mitch McConnell said with a straight face that "virtually every Republican" believes "There's no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished [government] revenue. They increased revenue, because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy."
On Meet the Press (Aug.1) Alan Greenspan described McConnell's policy as "disastrous." David Stockman, Reagan's first director of the Office of Management and Budget, writing in the New York Times on July 31, had this to say about America's soaring national debt: "This debt explosion has resulted not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party's embrace, about three decades ago, of the insidious doctrine that deficits don't matter if they result from tax cuts."
Average real GDP growth during the Clinton years was a robust 4%. During Bush's presidency it was only 2.31%. Yet Republicans claim that going back to the tax rate under Clinton will harm the economy.
The only consistent theme in the GOP's plan for America in the last three decades is the belilef that what's good for the rich is good for everyone.
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