Lying about Tax Cuts

Reader Coments

Jan Wolter on October 28, 2005:

On October 23, 2005, the New York Times published Deborah Solomon's interview with the Chairman of President Bush's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform, Connie Mack. Part of it went like this:

Solomon: You have already announced a proposal to eliminate the alternative minimum tax for individuals, which will cost the government $1.2 trillion in lost income over the next decade. Do you find it difficult to cut taxes post-Katrina, when the government is desperate for revenue?

Mack: The Congress and the president can address that issue. Of course, the president already has addressed that issue. He said there won't be any increases in taxes.

[discussion of estate tax omitted]

Solomon: Well, the U.S. government has to get money from somewhere. As a two-term former Republican senator from Florida, where do you suggest we get money from?

Mack: What money?

Solomon: The money to run this country.

Mack: We'll borrow it.

Solomon: I never understand where all this money comes from.

Mack: When the president says we need another $200 billion for Katrina repairs, does he just go and borrow it from the Saudis?

In a sense, we do. Maybe the Chinese.

Solomon: Is that fair to our children? If we keep borrowing at this level, won't the Arabs or the Chinese eventually own this country?

Mack: I am not worried about that. We are a huge country producing enormous assets day in and day out. We have great strength, and we have always adjusted to difficulties that faced us, and we will continue to do so.

This kind of thing just takes my breath away. I used to vote for Republicans in the days when they stood for fiscal responsibility, but now that the choice has come down to one between "tax and spend liberals" and "borrow and spend conservatives," it's a whole different ball game.

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