Times Poll and Taxes

It is no surprise that people responded to a survey that they oppose raising taxes (Part I, Nov. 5). The question should have been, “Do you approve of restoring taxes to people with higher incomes, because it was their cut in taxes by the Reagan Administration that led to our enormous deficits and in turn to the stock market crash?”

President Reagan said that taxes for the very wealthy could be cut, military spending could be greatly increased and the budget could be balanced. George Bush labeled that thinking “voodoo economics,” spurious reasoning that has caused the national debt to double under Reagan!

When Reagan came to power, the annual deficit was running about $70 billion. It has now tripled to around $200 billion! The President never submitted a balanced budget, even though that was a key promise of his campaign. Although he had veto power, a majority in the Senate, and Congress did exactly what he wanted in cutting taxes and drastically increasing military expenditures, the President now has the gall to blame this colossal deficit mess on Congress.

The obvious place to cut the deficit is to reduce military expenditures, for they are the primary cause of the ongoing red ink. Despite trillions of dollars for the military and trillions of debt, it is probable that most Americans feel less safe, less secure and more uncertain about the future than they have in a long time.

Some examples of military waste are: The great majority of people believe we should not be in the Persian Gulf; many of the top military contractors have been convicted, indicted or under investigation for overcharging the U.S. government--the most current example being the MX missile. Even Reagan’s own former budget man, David Stockman, said the military budget could be cut by $20 to $30 billion!

If Americans consider the facts and the full story, they undoubtedly would be for restoring taxes to the very wealthy, and for reducing the deficits that are reducing us to a second-class power, dependent upon Japan and Germany.

JACK F. MILLER

Tustin