U Magazine, Winter 1986

"It's true," Joe confessed, "I did vote for him in 1980 because I liked the promise of Reaganomics."

you forgotten Kemp-Roth? That was the largest tax cut in history and it was passed in 1981, the first year Reagan was in office. You got more money, what more do you want? " "When are we going to learn," Joe replied in a rather pedantic tone, "that the burden of government is measured not by how much they tax us but how much they spend. Have they reduced spending?" he asked. But he didn't let me respond . " I know you have grandchildren," he said. "I have grandchildren, too. Do you like your grandchildren?" I nodded in the affirmative but he still wouldn't let me respond. Joe was more agitated as he continued, "We have got to understand that taxes and debts are both obligations. What this administration has chosen to do is to shift the burden of government from the older generation to the younger generation, and what is even worse, to our children's children. I love my grandchildren, too. I want them to have more money. Do you think I want them to inherit this?" "No. I'm sure you don't, Joe, but ..." "No buts," Joe went on as more than a hint of anger crept into his voice. "When Kemp-Roth was passed Mr. Reagan said that this was just the sort of stimulus our economy needed and that it would enable us to balance the budget by 1984. And what happened?" Without pausing, Joe answered his own question. "We plunged into the worst recession since the Great Depression and we have been ringing up one gargantuan deficit after another, year after year! 1ranslated, less and less for the people I love the most." "I was reading an article by Irving Kristo! in the Wall Street Journal," I began as an attempt to calm Joe down. "Dr. Kristo! suggested that Congress has had a hand in these deficits. Indeed, Professor Kristo! says it would be more

appropriate to call them 'Tip O'Neil deficits.' " Joe exploded. "Who is in charge here?" "You are, Joe, you are," I gasped. "No, no," Joe said, "I mean who is in charge of the country? Back in 1980, Carter explained weakly that Congress was at least partially responsible for his puny deficit. But Reagan wouldn't let him get away with it. So he asked President Carter during the TV debates in a very firm voice, 'Who has been in charge here these past four years?' It is time we started asking the same question of him." After a minute of silence, Joe continued, "Tip O' Neil ... you think we've got some overweight Irishman running the country? No, it's the movie actor who dramatized the national debt as a stack of thousand dollar bills that reaches 24 miles into the sky. It's a disgrace," he insisted. "Someone should ask him how high that stack of thousand dollar bills is now or how high it is likely to be when he leaves office. Can you imagine amassing more deficits than all presidents in history? The Reagan administration will be forever known as the 'red ink' administration. After all, under his administration, the national debt has not only cracked one trillion, but two trillion. Do you know how many zeros are in a trillion?" he asked furiously. "1\velve," I immediately responded with a knowing smile on my face. With that Joe nicked me. "Ow," I screamed. It really hurt but Joe said nothing. He moved methodically to grab a tissue and sop up the blood on the back of my ear. I sat quietly for a long time trying not to show how much he had hurt me. Finally, I dared to open a new subject. "Speaking of deficits, why do you suppose we also have such a huge trade deficit?" "Don't you understand that everything in economics is connected?"

"Can you imagine amassing more deficits than all presidents in history?"

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