This page was last updated on February 4, 2010.
Reaganomics has failed the country; Jerry Miskulin; Beaver County Times; February 4, 2010.
I encourage you to review Mr. Miskulin’s body of work in the archives. Mr. Miskulin has written at least 59 letters since 2004 (I didn’t critique all of them.). Most (all?) are illogical and full of falsehoods (not just wrong).
In recent letters, Mr. Miskulin expressed displeasure with the tea parties (here and here), proclaimed
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Trickle-down economics, of which George W. Bush with his tax cuts was the master, is really the opposite of what should’ve been done.”
[RWC] As you read this letter, be sure to make note of what Mr. Miskulin believes is the purpose of taxes.
“Tax cuts for the wealthy put too much of our resources into their hands, while the middle and lower classes suffer from a lack of money.”
[RWC] As for the myth of “tax cuts for the wealthy,” there were tax RATE cuts, not tax cuts, and they went to everyone. As you can read in my critique of “Lottery winners” (7/25/06), “these cuts actually reduced the tax burden of low- and middle-income taxpayers and shifted the tax burden onto wealthier taxpayers.” Further, the rate cuts ultimately resulted in record tax revenue, not a cut.
Also note Mr. Miskulin’s language. Mr. Miskulin wrote the tax rate cuts “put too much of our resources” into the hands of the wealthy. Mr. Miskulin apparently believes everything we earn as individuals is really community property (“our resources”), not our personal property.
“The middle and lower classes thus do not have the resources to buy the products of small and large business concerns, so business doesn’t expand.”
[RWC] Ignoring his flawed premise, in Mr. Miskulin’s world, what do “the wealthy” (anyone who has more than you) do with their wealth, stuff it under their mattresses? Of course not, they lend it, invest it, buy stuff, employ people, et cetera.
“The tax code was set up to distribute money to all segments of the population.”
[RWC] Hmm, I went to the same high school as Mr. Miskulin and that’s not what I learned or was taught. I learned the purpose of taxes was to pay for government services, like roads, law enforcement, national security, et cetera. Mr. Miskulin’s view of the purpose of taxes is how the left views taxes.
“But with Ronald Reagan and his Reaganomics it was used for just the opposite reason and put all the money into the hands of the wealthy.”
[RWC] Again, note how Mr. Miskulin appears to believe income isn’t earned by us individuals but is instead bestowed upon us by government.
The core of “Reaganomics” is simply liberty. “Reaganomics” was the position that we all -- rich, poor, and in the middle -- should be able to keep more of what we earn.
“As a result, tax cuts and the trade imbalance have been the driving forces to our current economic nightmare.”
[RWC] As noted above, the rate cuts ultimately resulted in record tax revenue, not a cut. Spending is the problem, not a lack of tax revenue. Notice Mr. Miskulin never mentions the immediate core of the problem, the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act and the government entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their encouragement of loans to people who could not afford them.
“As long as all our resources are going to the rich, jobs will never grow for the middle and lower classes. Because they have no money to spend, the economy can’t expand.”
[RWC] This is a repeat of previous paragraphs.
“The tax code was set up to remedy this situation, but Reagan and the Bushes decided to go in the opposite direction.”
[RWC] I guess Mr. Miskulin forgot President Bush #1 increased taxes. Again note Mr. Miskulin’s view of the purpose of taxes.
“I hope that President Barack Obama distances himself from these guys because we’ve got a long way to go.”
[RWC] Mr. Miskulin doesn’t have to worry; he and Mr. Obama are fellow travelers.
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