Politics & Government

Letters: Ignore History and You Are Prone to Repeat It

There seems to be a disconnect between what Republicans say and what actually happens when they are in charge.

Dear Nashua Patch:

There is so much brouhaha from Republicans Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan about the dangers of raising taxes on our most fortunate citizens. We are warned such a move would be a job killer; that it will adversely affect Wall Street, sinking the Stock Market. Conversely, we are told that cutting taxes on the top 1 percent will result in a flush of new jobs and other beneficial economically beneficial activity.

But history shows otherwise. In 1980 when Ronald Reagan was elected the nation's budget deficit was $75 billion. Soon a large tax cut especially benefiting the rich was signed into law. Unemployment figures hardly budged only improving .02 percent.

Twelve years later Bill Clinton was elected president with the country experiencing a major recession and the budget deficit had  more than tripled to $260 billion.

So, it was decided to do two major things.

1) Closely look at federal spending and identify and eliminate wasteful programs.


2) Raise Taxes on the wealthiest and most fortunate americans.

What happened as a result? Over 22 million jobs were added. Plus, George W. Bush was handed a $230 billion budget SURPLUS!

Eight years later, after Bush's ruinous two terms, the deficit was back to $250 billion, we had two unpaid for wars (never included in the budget), and an economic meltdown of epic proportions.

So, it seems to be a disconnect between what Republicans continue to say and what actually happens when they are in charge. There is a saying: Ignore history and you are prone to repeat it. The Republican portion of America lives in their own ideology, not reality.

The result: Disaster

Mark L. Whitney
South Deerfield, MA

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