Bill Clinton’s Economic Goals

Let’s correct some of the erroneous conclusions made in Reich’s column.

President Reagan gave us 20 million new jobs (37% paid more than $31,200 a year, while 61% paid more than $28,200 a year). The top 1% of all taxpayers paid 26.1% of all taxes. The bottom 50% of all taxpayers paid only 6.4% of all taxes (down from 7.5% in 1981). This shows taxing the “rich” only weakens the economy more! Reagan’s fiscal policies increased tax revenues from $517.1 billion in 1980 to $909 billion in 1988.

The federal budget has been in the red 28 of the last 29 years, and in 23 of those years we have experienced tax increases of some kind. Look who has been in control of Congress, spending $1.50 for each $1 collected, all those years--Democrats.

The reason President Bush is in so much trouble is he bought into the Democrats’ tax increase of 1990. As to who has given us the poorest economy since Hoover, let’s insert the name of Jimmy Carter.

HARRY D. BORLAND

Tustin