Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore
“In 1982 the federal budget deficit rose above $100 billion for the first time (those were the good old days!), and then-President Ronald Reagan agreed to an infamous budget deal with then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill. Democrats would agree to $3 of spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases. Reagan foolishly agreed to the deal. The taxes went up. The spending cuts never materialized. … Back then Democrats at least pretended they would cut spending. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis pledged in 1988 that he would ‘only raise taxes as a last resort.’ My, how times have changed. Now we have red ink multiple times higher than back then, with the Biden-Kamala baseline forecast calling for $2 trillion in deficits from now until kingdom come.” [editor’s note: BTW, which party controls the House and has the ability to filibuster in the Senate, therefore exercising “power of the purse?” – TLK] (09/11/24)