Letter: GOP wants to run up big debt

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999 | 9:51 a.m.

Let us go back to 1980 when Ronald Reagan was running against Jimmy Carter. Carter had a national debt of $685 billion to which Reagan shouts "intolerable." Under "Reaganomics" (supply side fiasco) the debt went from the "intolerable" $685 billion to $402 trillion before the Reagan-Bush-Quayle era mercifully ended. That is an increase of 513 percent over 12 years or a current dollar increase of 43 percent per year.

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1993, the Clinton national debt rose by 30.6 percent or 4.7 per year in current dollars, or about one-tenth of the Reagan-Bush credit card binge for 1981-1992.

If we do not seize the opportunity now and pay down the national debt, we shall be passing on future tax increases to our children and theirs. Failing this opportunity, we shall witness increasingly debit services (interest) which shall consume increasing sums of the annual budgets.

When you slice through the GOP's emotional-political facade on the issue, you shall probably see why Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said he would place paying down the debt as a first priority over tax cuts at this time.

Let us not be fooled by Republican "tax cut" rhetoric. Clinton is right!

JAMES J. POUPARD

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