John A. Lovra – 10/29/06

This page was last updated on October 29, 2006.

Cherry picking the facts; John A. Lovra; Beaver County Times; October 29, 2006.

In summary, no one should believe Messrs. DiTommasso and Lovra know anything about pension funds.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I would like to thank letter writer Tony DiTommaso for the lesson on corporate pension funds, how they are invested, and the cause of their demise. (‘Blame mess on Democrats,’ Oct. 19).

“We are so blessed to have some of his intellect to advise us.

“Unfortunately, as he always does with any problem, he blames everything on Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party. I would like to mention a few facts that he didn’t consider.

“Over the last 25 years, since 1981, we have a Republican president for 17 years, and will until at least 2009.”

[RWC] “17 years?” Check your math, Mr. Lovra. It’s closer to 18 years. <g>

For 12 of those years, though, the Republican president did not have a Republican-majority Congress. During the Reagan and Bush #1 administrations, Republicans had a majority in the Senate for only six years (1981-1986), and never had a majority in the House.

We also need to remember the Presidents Bush (10 of the 18 years) are/were not conservatives in the mold of Ronald Reagan.

“Since 1995, both the House and Senate have been under Republican control. Bill Clinton had the benefit of a Democratic Congress for only two years. George W. Bush has had a Republican Congress his entire presidency.”

[RWC] Not exactly. Democrats controlled the Senate from late May 2001 until January 2003.

“So, for all of the blame he throws at Bill Clinton and the Democrats, he needs to look at his own party.

“What did Ron Reagan and George H.W. Bush do for 12 years, when according to DiTommaso, this all started? What has George W. Bush and a Republican Congress done for the last five years, other than take a budget surplus and turn it into a deficit that our great-grandchildren will still be paying for while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans?”

[RWC] Mr. Lovra appears to believe deficit and debt are synonyms. Though there were a few years of budget deficits during the end of the Clinton administration, the national debt was $5.8 trillion as of 9/30/01. The reason I cited the debt as of 9/30/01 is that we operated under President Clinton’s last budget until October 1st, the beginning of the federal fiscal year. When President Clinton took office, the debt was $4.4 trillion.

Regarding taking a surplus and turning it into a deficit, Mr. Lovra ignores the fact that surpluses were already decreasing and the Bush administration inherited a recession. Budget surpluses and recessions are not on speaking terms. Does anyone believe Mr. Lovra would have supported the spending cuts required to bring the budget into balance. Regarding tax cuts, everyone got cuts, even “the wealthiest Americans.” That’s because tax cuts usually don’t work when they don’t include the people paying the most in taxes. Oddly, giving a tax cut to someone who pays little or no taxes doesn’t help the economy. <g>

“In spite of the well thought-out lesson that he gave us on pensions, there is absolutely nothing that he or any Republican currently in office can teach us about financial management. They have proven themselves to have no credibility.”

[RWC] I hope Mr. Lovra isn’t implying Democrats have any economic credibility.