Democrats: J'accuse

"I'll take the high road and you take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before ye." Old Scottish Tune

As an American Voter, I have one wish.

I wish politicians and pundits would commit themselves to telling the truth; take the High Road, if you will. That one thing would make all the difference in quality of life in America. Everyone would gain. As it is, the Democrats, especially, seem to prefer the Low Road. Lies and misinformation. They loudly accuse the Republicans of lying, but a look at the facts turns the spotlight back to the Democrats.

Let's look at the economy, for example.

The official Democratic line on President Bush's fiscal policies is that they're a disaster. They claim that "Bush plans devastating cuts to America's top priorities, from homeland security to health care to education to benefits for veterans and much more. Despite these cuts, this budget is a fiscal disaster, with Bush's trademark irresponsibility pushing America deeper into the red with another record deficit." The quote is from the Democratic Party website.

But look at the truth:

"Federal tax revenues surged in the first eight months of this fiscal year by $187 billion, writes Stephen Moore in OpinionJournal.com. "This represents a 15.4% rise in federal tax receipts over 2004. Individual and corporate income tax receipts have exploded like a cap let off a geyser, up 30% in the two years since the tax cut. Once again, tax rate cuts have created a virtuous chain reaction of higher economic growth, more jobs, higher corporate profits, and finally more tax receipts.

"This Laffer Curve effect has also created a revenue windfall for states and cities. As the economic expansion has plowed forward, and in some regions of the country accelerated, state tax receipts have climbed 7.5% this year already. Perhaps the most remarkable story from around the nation comes from the perpetually indebted New York City, which suddenly finds itself more than $3 billion in surplus thanks to an unexpected gush in revenues. Many of President Bush's critics foolishly predicted that states and localities would be victims of the Bush tax cut gamble."

The Laffer Curve is an economic theory that Democrats disparage despite proven results. Reaganomics, it turns out, was based on the theory. When President Reagan lowered the tax rate in the highest income tax brackets from 70% to 20%, the result was an economic burst that almost doubled federal tax receipts: from $517 billion to $1,032 billion.

The idea is that lowering the tax rate on production, work, investment and risk-taking will spur more of these activities and leads to more tax revenue collections for the government.

All is not sweetness and light, however. Congress is on a spending spree -- federal expenditures are up $110 billion, or 7.2%, so far this year. However, it's now projected that the budget deficit will be at least $60 billion lower than last year.

States and cities, led by California, which a few years ago were awash in debt themselves, will enjoy net surpluses of at least $50 billion. Total government borrowing will come in at below 2.5% of national output -- hardly a crisis level of debt.

Opponents of the tax cut maintained that interest rates would soar, but today long-term rates are lower than ever.

All of this is public information, folks -- at the US Department of Labor . Everyone has access to it. So why do the Democrats continue to lie about the condition of the economy? Because they know most people won't do the research to find out the truth and they don't care to be honest and tell the truth.

And the truth gets even better: In the private-sector, we now have an investment boom. Lower capital gains and dividends taxes capitalized into higher stock values, which is partly why the Dow is up 24% since May 2003 while the Nasdaq has risen 39%.

Dan Clifton of the American Shareholder Association, Moore writes, estimates that this rise in stock values has translated into roughly $3 trillion in added wealth holdings of American households. The severe slump in business capital spending in 2001 and 2002 has now taken a U-turn, with spending on capital purchases up 22% since 2003. Because higher wages and new job creation depend on business capital investment, the so-called 'Bush tax cut for the rich' has enormously benefited middle-income workers.

Honest people in an honest Democratic Party would simply admit the truth and find another issue -- preferably a valid issue not being addressed -- to work on. I just don't understand why they have to take the Low Road.