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From: mjk@tty3b.UUCP (Mike Kelly)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Soaking the Rich
Message-ID: <656@tty3b.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Mar-85 14:16:48 EST
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A fair comparison would look at all taxes, not just Federal income
tax.   Because of Reagan's "New Federalism" (i.e. shift responsibility
for programs to the states while not shifting the funds),  state taxes
increased significantly under Reagan.  State taxes are typically regressive
straight percentages, so the overall effect of the Reagan tax "cut" was 
actually a net increase in overall taxation for lower- and middle-income
Americans.  

The real standard of living for lower-income Americans also declined under
Reagan as the programs benefitting them were cut first and deepest.  This
is because the politically unorganized are a much more inviting target.
Witness, for example, the uproar over Social Security cuts, a program that
would hurt the much better organized.  While cuts in programs for the
mentally ill, homeless and working mothers were greeted with protest, these
were still cut.

I'm glad that the apologists for Reagan feel that they must make the
argument that his programs are "fair."  That is better than the old conservative
argument that people get what they deserve.  However, it is only with
statistical sleight-of-hand that they can ever make Reagan's policies
look like anything other than what his own Budget Chief said they were:
a Trojan Horse to pass a large taxcut to the upper-income taxpayers that
are Reagan's political base.

Mike Kelly