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Words are powerful - Thoughts shape - Ideas have consequences

David Krive

15 Year Old Law Student
Posted January 5,2003

Of Death and Taxes
They Just Don't Get It

It seems to be a chronic problem among the libs; they just don’t get it. Three separate times during the past century a pro-tax cut president has gotten his legislation through congress and, coincidentally, three separate times we have seen major economic booms. Now a fourth major tax cut has once again stimulated an economy beyond all hope, and they still don’t get it.

It seems all too often, though, that solid conservatives in today’s world lack the facts to combat liberal rhetoric and establishment bias. Howard Dean vowed in an August WSJ op/ed that, “As president, my economic policies will be focused and clear. I will begin by repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.” He blames President Bush (as is, of course, expected of him – Democrats must always blame Bush for everything, except Saddam’s capture, which is blamed on the Kurds, and didn’t make America safer anyway) for the 01-02 recession, despite recent recalculation of economic indicators, revealing that US GDP fell 0.5% during the third quarter in 2000.

The weapon of conservatives is reason, our strength lies in the facts, the reality that leftists are so quick to ignore. A brief review of recent history reveals what democrats don’t want you to know - the truth.

During the ‘20s – the years of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, the tax rates were slashed from a top rate of 73% to 25%. ‘Modern’ leftists, as a matter of course, would oppose this action with all the vehemence of a cornered dictator, claiming, inevitably, that the budget couldn’t take it (the federal budget, not citizens’ budgets). As a result, millions of jobs were lost, the federal government went bankrupt, and the economy went into severe recession, setting the stage for the great depression. Or, so the dems will tell you. But the facts will tell you that the economy grew 59% in eight years, averaging over 6% growth per year, and government revenue grew 61%. President Hoover dramatically increased tax rates in the ‘30s; thus, the Republican Party is blamed for the great depression, and the fact that President Hoover pursued fiscally liberal policies is conveniently ignored.

John F. Kennedy, one of the most well known presidents in American history, is more widely recognized for how his presidency ended, than what he did during it. This isn’t due to the insignificance of his administration, by no means. It’s merely because the leftists choose to ignore it. He expresses his (very un-‘Democrat'ic’) views thus: “In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.” He was right, apparently; after his ‘63 tax cuts, revenue rose nearly 30% (adjusted for inflation) by ’68. Kennedy’s economy expanded more than 40% in seven years, averaging over 5% per year.

Reagan, the wizard of the eighties, had a similar experience, despite the (mis)information that leftists supply about him. Despite the deficit that his administration created (due to runaway spending,) federal revenues nearly doubled during the 80s. The average annual growth rate of real gross domestic product from 1983 to 1989 was 3.8 percent per year, compared with 2.8 percent from 1974 to 1981 and 2.1 percent from 1989 to 1995. By the end of the Reagan years, the American economy was almost one-third larger than it was when they began.

So it should come as no surprise then, that Bush’s tax cuts have taken Clinton’s recession and turned it into the greatest economic boom seen since Reagan’s years (1983, 8.4%, directly after his tax cuts were enacted). Yet the flagship of the liberals - Dean for 2004 - still refuses to recognize the truth. His website’s ‘official blog’ gives a link to an article blasting Bush’s tax cuts - even after the statistics were released. It is increasingly clear that no matter what facts get in the way, the leftist ideologists won’t give up their anti-Bush, anti-American dogma.

They just don’t get it.

David Krive is an incredible young man of 15. Having been homeschooled most of his life and wondering why a 'normal' child takes twelve years to get through public school, at twelve years of age he graduated high school by passing the CHSPE (California Highschool Proficiency Exam). He recently finished Oakbrook College of Law's paralegal course, and is in his first year in their Juris Doctor program. If all goes according to plan, he'll be liscensed to practice law by the time he turns 19. David has competed in the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association's National Tournament for three years, and as an exclusive writer for Changing Worldviews, he is one of the youngest columnists in America. Not afraid to take on the toughest issues David is a fresh voice to his generation, and to readers of all ages. You can contact him at db8ingdave@yahoo.com