The Gipper Runs for Another 1st Down

Fire of Liberty

James Pinkerton has an excellent piece over at Tech Central Station that points out how the US can honor the 25th anniversary of the election of President Reagan and how we can extend the Spirit of Reaganism within the Republican party well into the 21st century. While the GOP and the devotees of "the Gipper" have endured tremendous successes by gaining control of both Houses of Congress in 1994 and subsequent victories for President Bush in 2000 and 04, they are slowly drifting (A very small pace) towards the shoulder of the Highway paved by the man from Dixon, Ill. because they have become so used to their surroundings and the trappings of power that the get soft on established GOP principles like small government, tax cuts, deregulation and spending cuts (Non-Descretionary spending). As Pinkerton notes, the GOP should continue to honor Reagan by pushing his time honored ideas and shy away from complacency. As long as they command the ship of state, they should continue to keep the sails taunt or they will eventually be overcome by the Democrats. While he didn't draw out a complete manifesto, Pinkerton has laid out a pretty good argument on how the GOP should continue to push Reagan's tax policies to ensure our dynamic economy well into this century. Take a look:

Having shaken his hand a half-dozen times, I feel empowered to make three points, just on the tax issue.

First, Reagan Redux would say that taxes are still too high. Although the Laffer Curve is a bit too radical -- radical in its simplicity and profundity -- for most economists to subscribe to, at least when their colleagues are looking, no credible economist today would want to return to the bad old ideas of pre-Lafferite tax policy, when tax rates went as high as 94 percent. Interestingly, one of the first Americans to argue that such high tax rates were not only socially punitive, but also economically counter-productive, was a young actor who asked himself, "Why bother making another movie if I take home just six cents on the dollar?" And when Ronald Reagan applied that insight beyond his own situation, to the economy as a whole, his long romance with the Laffer Curve began.

Today, the top rate is 35 percent. And while the new tax reform commission has its heart in the right place, its recommendations are a jumble of poorly articulate "alternatives," none of which seem destined to capture the national imagination -- or a place on the political agenda.

But such neo-Reaganites as Steve Forbes, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and former George W. Bush economic adviser Larry Lindsey all say that the top rate should be half that. If we could accomplish such a feat, then maybe America's economic growth wouldn't merely exceed that of Western Europe and Japan; it might rival that of China and the other Asian tigers.

Second, the Gipper would remind us that tax rates aside, the overall burden of taxation -- federal, state, and local -- is too high. The data on Tax Freedom Day show a lot more sideways sidling than forward progress. And Tuesday's rollback of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in Colorado is hardly an encouraging sign. And while there's plenty of fight left in fans of limited governments, the Colorado vote underscores Goldwater's wisdom: No Final Victories.

Third, as if to underscore Goldwater's wisdom, one of the worst ideas of the 70s is today making a comeback: a "windfall profits tax" on the oil industry. Yes, it's maddening to see liberal Democrats decrying shortages of oil -- shortages that they helped create through restrictions on drilling and refining -- and thus proposing to "solve" those shortages through demagogic polices. But it's even more maddening to see Republicans joining in. As the Gipper reminded us, "if you tax something, you get less of it." Thus the question to the oil-taxers of today: Is this the time for less oil production?

Hopefully the GOP will continue the Reagan legacy by promoting the three points on taxes that Pinkerton notes above but they'll be served a whole lot better if they expand this to other policies or fields. In fact the GOP seems to be coming out of it's and reviving Reaganism, namely the $35 billion recission within the Senate(The House is expected to pass a $50 billion recission), the nomination of Judge Alito for SCOTUS (After the ill advised nomination of Harriet Miers), tax reform proposals being bandied in Congress (The Fair Tax - John Linder, Flat Tax - Steve Forbes, 8.5% Tax Reform Plan - Sen. Demint and Graham). As long as the GOP keeps moving forward and promoting an agenda that is principled and beneficial to the nation rather than the "Bush Lied" or closing down the Senate silliness that the Democrats keep pushing. The GOP will do best if the follow Goldwater's mantra that "there are no final victories," they'll be alright in following Ronald W. Reagan's legacy.