Here’s a letter I sent back in August to the Washington Post:
Dear Editor:
In "McCain’s Problem Isn’t His Tactics. It’s GOP Ideas." (August 3),
Greg Anrig portrays the past 30 years as a period of radically
shrinking government and galloping laissez faire. Gee. Methinks he
mistakes Ronald Reagan’s rhetoric for reality.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, Uncle Sam’s budget is now 110 percent
larger than it was in 1980, the year of Reagan’s election. U.S.
population since 1980 grew by only 33 percent. Although some useful
deregulation has occurred during this time, the problem is hardly a
retreat of government; it is, rather, government’s continued insidious
intrusion into ever more aspects of our lives – and, despite cuts in
marginal tax rates, its continued growth. As Milton Friedman wisely
pointed out, "If you cut taxes and revenues go up, you haven’t cut
taxes enough."
Revenues have gone up. So tax cuts have been inadequate.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
