Bailing Out Failed Savings and Loans

President Bush calling a savings fee, a “user’s fee” and not a tax, reminds me of an authentic Lincoln story. President Lincoln asked, “If you call a cow’s tail a leg, how many legs does a cow have?”

“Five,” was the reply.

“No,” Lincoln replied. “Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one.”

Similarly, Bush calling a tax a “user’s fee” doesn’t make it one. It’s still a tax!

MORT R. LEWIS

Marina del Rey