Putting Families First: A Deficit Reduction and Tax Relief strategy

Publication Date: February 1993

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Scott A. Hodge

Research Area: Banking and finance; Economics

Keywords: Taxes

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Bill Clinton promised American taxpayers that he would “put people first.” However, with the economic plan he plans to release on February 17, Clinton may end up putting Washington first by repeating the fiscal policy mistakes of the Bush Administration. The reason is that it is not the deficit, but government spending, that is a drag on the economy. That is the problem that must be solved. A myopic focus on the deficit inevitably leads to calls for more taxes on cash-strapped American families, which invariably leads in practice to deficit increases.