The unbearable wrongness of economic perception
Editor:
In the June 20, 2024, issue of the Tucson Weekly, Mr. Tom Danehy wrote the article noted above.
Mr. Daheny writes that the U.S. economy is the best in the world. This is only because the socialist policies of the western European nations with 40% to 50% tax rates have made them uncompetitive and throttled innovation and the same thing happens with Canada. Also, China, even with its cheap labor, is struggling with its economy as the Chinese people have lost faith in investing in property due to the insolvency of the major Realtor firm. China needs to sell volumes of goods to do well. If Walmart and other companies buy less, China is in trouble. It is not due to Joe Biden’s policies.
A study by two people at Princeton hardly makes a majority of economists. Mr. Daheny says they could find no clues for the phenomenon of a better economy under Democrats. Also, who paid for the study? The one item stressed by the professor of my statistics class is that you can make the numbers say what you want by setting up the data the way you want.
Harry Truman’s robust economy was due to the pent-up demand for goods and services rightfully rationed for the World War II effort. After the war, people wanted all the things they could not get during the war. By the time Dwight Eisenhower took office, that pent-up demand had subsided.
Unfortunately, we have seen war stimulate the economy. The escalation of the Vietnam War under Lyndon Johnson kept our factories busy. I know because my father could work up to seven days a week if he wanted to. He took Sundays off to be with his family at church and home. Richard Nixon ended the war, and the factories were not as busy. Hence, a downturn in the economy. Also, two bad decisions by Nixon, price freezes and taking the dollar off the gold standard, increasing the potential for inflation.
Let me be clear that I do not want our military put in harm’s way and only when necessary to protect our country as in World War II.
Jimmy Carter’s term was a disaster with high interest rates of 11% to 12% for home mortgages, if I remember correctly. I respect the man for his religious background, but his problem was he could not make the hard decision. This and inflation put him out of office.
The Reagan Revolution was a 10-year tax cut with the tax cuts larger each year of the 10-year program. Ronald Reagan with the help of Tip O’Neill, a Democrat, pushed this deal through Congress. Those two people knew how to compromise.
Who was the biggest beneficiary (besides the taxpayers) of these tax cuts? Bill Clinton was in office when the largest tax cuts were in place. Little known to the public was that at the end of the Clinton era, we were back in the red financially.
It is proven fact that when the federal government initiates tax cuts, the federal government collects more revenues because people have more money to buy more things. Tax increases kill revenues. Inflation kills revenues.
Remember George H.W. Bush’s saying, “Read my lips, no more taxes.” Then the Democratic-controlled Congress told Bush we needed more revenue and Bush signed off on new taxes. The American people felt he broke his promise and sent him packing in the next election.
The only candidate for President that understood the ups and downs of the economy was Steve Forbes, an economist! He had the idea of a flat 10% income tax with no deductions. Make $10,000, pay $1,000 in taxes, make $100,000, you pay $10,000 in taxes and so on. Everybody pays and if you do better, you do not pay a penalty. I remember getting a pay raise, and my net pay was less! Negatively rewarded for doing a good job.
One out of three restaurants permanently closed during the pandemic. They are continuing to close under Joe Biden’s policies due to higher prices for food, leases, utilities and the minimum wage increases. Restaurants need to make a profit and can only raises prices so much to keep customers coming back. My neighbor told me it is just too expensive to eat out. In California, many restaurant chains are leaving due to a $20 per hour minimum wage. The minimum wage was meant to get young people into the workforce, I know when from age 17 to my graduation from college I worked for the minimum wage. It is not meant for long-term jobs. The best way to get ahead is to get an education with skills wanted by employers.
People with fixed income and younger people with lower income and middle class income people are hurting under Joe Biden’s policies. Also, the trillion-dollar bills passed recently by Congress will hurt young people for decades to come.
I vote for any politician who keeps more money in my pocket, no matter whether he/she is a Democrat or Republican. We have had good and bad with both parties.
This election I urge people to vote with your wallet or purse!
So, perception is reality with the current economy.
Sincerely,
Anthony J. Albini
