European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 23, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday february 23, 1993 commentary the stars ant stripes Page 15. " " a fairness7 Means unfairness in Clinton tax plan William f. Buckley the great Victory of Orwell speak in our time is fairness Over the decades in this Century we slowed through economic democracy to each according to his needs the classless society and the lot. But we continue to Roll merrily along with a concept of fairness that at the hands of the president of the United states constitutes quite simply unequal treatment under the Law which was supposed to be prohibited by the 14th in the popular understanding is to tax one set of people at a higher rate than another set of people. Even As marxism re quires a semantic scaffolding of phony historical and Philosoph ical generalities to sustain it outrages so docs the newspeak of words used to convey the opposite of what they mean. We do not say about judge sol Wachtler the highest Judi Cial figure in the state of new York that because of his Emi Nence he is at Liberty to getaway with extortion. We Send the police out to arrest him and get ready to prosecute him even As if he were Joe Doc. But the underlying concern is not to Ponder on the Constitution of the state of new York but on How Rich or powerful he is. Under the fairness dispensation As used by Clinton it a., judg Wachtler would be subject not Only to prosecution but also to a much stiffer sentence because he is a Man of judicial and for that matter economic is probably the Case that the affluent class in America is prepared to make sacrifices for the Benefit of the country even though it is not that class that Settle country on its present disastrous course. When the maximum tax rate was reduced Over a period of five years from 70 percent on unearned income to 28 per cent this was hardly an act of favouritism toward the affluent. It was a creeping recognition by a democratic Congress of two first was a Glimmer of apprehension that there is something incorrect about penalizing someone who does Well in a free Market. If a taxi Driver elects to work 70 hours every week instead of the 40 hours put indy his competitor it is hard to understand Why he should be taxed at a heavier rate. If under yesterday s regime he had been taxed at 50 percent and now Theta is reduced to 28 percent the government is not doing him a favor which justifies reconstitution seven years later in the name of you resume taxing him at 50 percent what you Are engaged in is discrimination. The notion that you arc engaged in balancing the Scales toward fairness is an affront to Basic philosophical second reason you should not penalize Success is Opal it. Y1llvt the self penalizing effect of it. In 1978, Congress reduced the capital gains tax from 49 percent to 28 per cent. After five years Revenue from capital gains to the Treasury increased by 18 percent. When Ronald Rea Gan took office the top 1 percent of american earners paid 17.9 percent of All Federal taxes. By the end of Reagan s term the marginal tax rate having been reduced the wealthiest 1 percent were paying 27.6 per cent of All Federal taxes. There arc two reasons Why this happened. The first is that the rewards of Industry were not penalized an therefore the Spur to Success and self sacrifice in creased. The second is that those who arc affluent arc willing to expose their earnings to a tax rate thought reasonable or fair. They deployed their savings to in Vest in enterprises that involved risk. During those eight years 19 million new jobs were created and Industrial production grew by 5 percent a year. There Are some of us who would elect Liberty even if the Price of it were a reduced Standard of living. It is singular Blessing that the two arc symbiotic. The More Liberty you have the higher the Standard of living. The affluent class is prepared one reasonably As Sumes to make sacrifices. What it is not prepared to do or ought not to be prepared to do is to make a Sac Rifice in the. Name of restitution. If or. Dupont earns a million dollars every year on should begin by postulating that that million is his not or. Clinton s. To say to him dear or. Dupont the boy scouts of Congress desperately need More Money and Linch you have More Money than Joe Doe would you kindly make a special contribution to our boy scout fund that is one thing. But to say that in the name of fairness one half of his million dollars belongs to the boy scouts of con Gress is to commit larceny under the protective cover of equity. Or. Clinton s program is freighted with cant and Eva Sive reasoning. But above All it is contaminated by an overarching distortion of ethical reasoning fairness equals unfairness. C unto total pro i Syndicate Clinton modifies Reagan plan to suit his game while the Early game plan could have come out of the Gipper s locker president Clinton is calling the plays his Way in a drive to reverse what remains of Ronald Reagan s going Back to the voters seeking to generate the pressure to build support in Congress. He s out to re validate a frag Ile mandate to show nervous members of the House and Senate that they can afford to vote for new taxes and program cuts without risking retaliation at the polls in 1994.a dozen years ago Reagan went after congressional support for his tax cuts and social spending reductions with implicit warnings that Republican defectors an conservative democrats might face his Campaign punishment. He had to put to Gether a conservative coalition that Span Ned the parties to get his tax measures through the democratic Reagan was in a stronger political position. He won a Clear majority in Athree Way 1980 election and his coattails helped republicans gain control of the Senate and 33 seats in the House. Clinton was elected with 43 percent of the vote. Democrats lost 10 House seats and the Senate elections were a standout. Still his party controls both houses of Congress so recruiting republicans was not an Early priority. While republicans have complained that they weren t consulted As the plan was drafted it s not their White House anymore. And gop presidents did t Call in democratic leaders to help shape their s people have said that they looked at the Reagan operation of 1981 in planning thei Campaign for the new administration s economic program. While i m flattered that presi Dent Clinton admits to taking a Page out of my Walter r. Mears communications plan Reagan said in a Newyork times essay thursday i wish he d used it to sell an economic program of growth and expansion not the failed Liberal policies of the candidate and president Clinton said what had failed was the trickle Dow theory of reaganomics that incentives at the top would promote investment an help everyone. Higher deficits came with lower taxes on the wealthy he said in one of his Warmup speeches before presenting the plan a saturday radio address like the ones Reagan used to give. There Are parallels even in the rhetoric of the opposing cases. In his first address from the Oval office Reagan said the nation faced an enormous economic Ca Lamity unless his tax and spending cuts were his last monday Clinton said that despite the enormity of this crisis be Lieve it or not the status quo still has its the old business As usual can t work Reagan said then adding that special interests would try to Block his people Are watching and various interest groups will be out in Force lobbying against this or that piece of this plan Clinton told Congress wednesday night. Our people will be watching and wondering. Just to see whether this is going to be business As said his was a comprehensive Elan threatened by those who wanted to Nock out pieces. Clinton said that i this program is picked apart everyone will find Points to oppose instead of looking at the benefits of the whole plan. It took Reagan nearly seven months Roget his tax Bills through Congress and it was an offer of massive tax cuts not hard to sell increases along with Domestic budget cuts the democrats opposed. Even so Reagan had to Compro Mise on tax terms. With action at hand he went on National television to push it urging people to write and Call Congress to urge buttressed a Campaign through the Republican National committee and a business Telephone network. Now the democratic administration is using the same tactics to Republican Dis May. The administration is about to launch the biggest propaganda Campaign in recent political history rep. Robert ii. Michel Roll complained of an operation that looks remarkably similar to Reagan s. In Reagan s time As with Clinton in popular features were leaked Early floated punctured and dropped. Both presidents made the Federal bureaucracy an Early target Reagan with a hiring freeze Clinton with orders to Cut 100,000 positions and proposals to freeze salaries now and limit increases later. Both talked of change for the Sake of fairness on precisely opposite tracks. And in each Case language was Tai lored to objectives. A year after his la Cut Reagan signed the biggest tax in crease Ever but called it Reform later re Vised to Revenue enhancement. To keep the inflation adjusted me of the Clinton taxes below that of the 1982 tax Bill this administration counted an increase on some social Security recipients As a Ian ing instead of a tax. T to column cartoon a 6m apr vim to m0wr a to nor to to a a a re m the � of
