European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday december 11,1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary William Safire inspired tinkering is All the Economy needs what do you do when the right thing to do is not enough that a the Bush problem on the Economy. The recovery that began this summer from the too mild too Short recession turned out to be a a dead cat bounced a a Brief turn up before a further sinking sensation. Because the consensus economic forecast turned out to be mistaken Public hand wringing is rising As consumer Confidence is sinking. What a the right thing for the Federal government to do if the goal is another Long period of prosperous non inflation a by growth the answer is no mystery Tough it out. Monetary and fiscal stimulation Are already in place. Interest rates Are Low and getting lower the Best incentive to borrow and to invest. On the budget Side the government is pumping in deficit spending of $350 billion a year the fiscal accelerator is already pressed to the floor. The wrong thing to do would be to Cut taxes or increase spending. That would dismay Bond vigilantes and drive up interest rates inviting recession to stick around another year harming those most needing help. At such a moment a secure president with a passion for prudence would come before the people with a simple message the free Enterprise system includes this thing called the business Cycle which includes a downturn every five or 10 years. We All know what to do to help keep recessions Short and we be been doing it. The trick now is to suffer awhile helping along those who Are the hardest hit but to avoid panicking and making a big mistake that would plunge us into the double digit inflation and interest rates of the late �?T70s, which were followed by the worst bust of postwar times. Unfortunately our president having lost percentage Points of Light is reeling  political opposition along with the jobless and career less has been joined by die Chicken Little Media in urging him to do something now Quick to Stop the pain a to be the nations daddy a and he feels forced to respond lest he seem unresponsive uncaring or Una elderly. His own party piles on House republicans urge a tax Cut because they believe there is never a bad time for a tax Cut and taxes As a percent of Gnu have never been higher the Senate minority Leader Bob Dole Ever the Stalwart when least needed declares the president must come up with a plan of action in the next six weeks or the game is up. This is when the right thing to do a to take the heat and stay the course to refuse to make Jimmy Carters economic mistakes a needs a Little something extra. Not action to a a take command a ask the soviets about command economies a but enough visible activity to create Confidence by giving the illusion of solving the problem. The appearance of action is comforting and the con David proper Here s a fight the president should relish the �?T80s, Are showing signs of political restlessness. The a a disaffected a As the times Mirror pollsters Call them now split their support almost evenly Between Bush and a nameless Democrat. They Are isolationist and protectionist in their inclinations a and they also want a More activist approach to Domestic problems than Bush to providing. Having Buchanan and Duke out there for several months this Winter airing the grievances of these voters wont help the president s chances for re election. However Many votes they draw the a a America first Erst will dramatize a and probably deepen a a split that already exists in Republican ranks. But its still a wonderful fight for Bush to have handed to him. Its not often in life you get to relive the Best Battle your own father fought a with the certain knowledge that you Are once again on the Side of history of realism and of responsibility. If Bush can to get up for that fight he does no to deserve a second term. C the Washington Post if there is one Challenge president Bush should really enjoy squashing it is the threat posed by the two a America first candidates lining up against him in the 1992 Republican primaries David Duke and Patrick j. Buchanan. That anyone should on this 50th anniversary of americans entry into world War ii resurrect the name of the prewar isolationist organization is remarkable testimony to the absence of historical perspective. And its not limited to the right Wing. Virginia gov. L. Douglas Wilder a democratic presidential contender also promises to a put America  the slogan is not Likely to be a Winner on that Side either. When Duke announced his candidacy last week he Unble Shingle swiped the same sullied a America first slogan Buchanan had said he would use in the Campaign he is expected to begin this week. In their lexicon a America first contains elements of the old isolationism mixed with an even older nativism and economic nationalism. They make up a concoction that surely has a constituency a but ultimately spells nothing but trouble for the United states. Conventional Wisdom says Bush needs to worry about conciliating conservatives. Tit at a True enough. But when the likes of Duke and Buchanan try to steal the conservative Banner it May be the provocation Bush needs to reassert the tradition of republicanism in which he was raised. Buchanan says Bush a proudest achievement the military defeat of iraqi aggression in Kuwait was a mistake. Duke Calls for a 75 percent cutback in defense. Both seem to think that since the soviet Union has broken up there a no threat of consequence to americans vital interests anywhere in the world. That a a pitch Bush should be Able to Knock out of the Ballpark by reminding people what a Rice his generation paid for the United tates and other Western countries Lack of preparedness during the 1930s. He also should have no trouble motivating himself to Challenge the a America first candidates Contention that the answer to overseas Competition is to bar foreign investment and foreign products from coming into the United states. Protectionism is almost As discredited by history As isolationism a and Bush knows that As Well As any american having seen its terrible consequences during the great depression. The final element in this mix is nativism the argument As Duke crudely put it that Waves of immigrants Are diluting the a european christians traditions of the United states. This is one of the oldest bogeymen in american political history one that has been trotted out time and again to exploit fears of newcomers a Many of them the grandparents or great grandparents of the people to whom Duke and Buchanan direct their appeals. It Isnit often that a Yankee Blue blood such As Bush can put himself on the Side of the Post Mayflower populace but Duke and Buchanan Are providing him a Golden Opportunity. In a not saying that there Are no votes in any of these issues. There Are a and always have been a people ready to respond to isolationist protectionist and nativist appeals especially in Tough economic times. An interesting Survey released last week by the times Mirror Center for the people and the press notes that the George Wallace voters of the last generation who swung overwhelmingly to Ronald Reagan and Bush in the elections of to Tidence it builds is necessary a provided the soothing activity does not become genuine Large scale action which is the wrong thing except in emergencies. Now is the time for making a big Deal out of relatively minor adjustments a a Challenge to Raisin pick ers and a Paradise for packagers. To Spur productive investment and break the ideological logjam Over capital gains change the name to Ltd targeted lob creation deductions a which picks up Cuomo and Tsongas support and shifts the focus from fat cat Stock traders. To raise investment savings and Shore up Banks make iras deductible again except for Cash carrying Richie. To show an interest in kick starting technical advances Start a Pilot work projects administration for a fiber optic superhighway Oner workers Job training credits and bring Back a Small investment tax credit for businesses. This sort of inspired tinkering cannot Hurt to the extent it calms fears by seeming like a bold program to save us from mis perceived disaster it can help. And everyone is already into the act every candidate can take up a part of the presidents scheme and claim it was stolen from him. The Point is to dazzle one another with economic footwork while not doing the wrong thing a not Over stimulating in political panic now at a Cost to be paid by the Job entering generation. Those of us not running for office can say fiddle around with creative ideas at the Periphery or. President and Congress to show you re awake to the pain a but done to mess with a system that is slowly getting itself Well. C the new York Timet