Editorial: Tax cut deserving of its death

Monday, Sept. 27, 1999 | 8:49 a.m.

President Clinton really had no choice last week other than to veto the $792 billion tax cut the Republican-controlled Congress sent him. The politically expedient thing would have been for the Democratic president to sign the legislation, engaging in "feel-good" politics. Fortunately this president has committed himself to balancing the budget, a policy that has been a key factor driving this nation's remarkable economic expansion. Inflation is historically low and the employment rate is the best it has been in 29 years. Low inflation and low unemployment rates once were thought incompatible, but this prosperity has defied predictions.

But Republican tax policies aren't adhering to the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Instead Republicans already are positioning themselves for congressional races and the presidential election in the year 2000. Part of this strategy has been to take partisan potshots at Clinton, such as the GOP tax cut, in the hope that this will stick to Vice President Al Gore and congressional Democrats. This doesn't stop with tax issues, though. They also are engaging in a vendetta to attack the Clinton administration for the Department of Justice's role in Waco and other issues. In addition, last week Republican senators criticized Clinton for spending too much on foreign travel. Yes, the same globe-trotting senators who themselves journey aboard on "fact-finding missions" couldn't pass up the chance to belittle the president for doing his job.

Unfortunately the Republican leadership in Congress would rather wage partisan sound-bite battles than getting down to the nitty-gritty business of governing. There are some monumental problems confronting the nation, whether it is saving Social Security or working to pass a balanced budget. There is enough money to give Americans a modest tax cut yet still have enough left over for reforming Social Security and Medicare. Now is not the time to engage in risky behavior that could stymie prosperity. There is room to find common ground among Democrats and Republicans that would allow for a modest tax cut, but it should not be so large as to jeopardize all the gains in fiscal responsibility that have been made during the 1990s.