Khachigian’s Tax Plan a Rich Joke

* Columnist Kenneth Khachigian would have us believe that the best thing to do with the surplus generated during the Clinton years is to give the money “back” to the people who earned it (Aug. 29).

Khachigian revealed the hidden intent of Republicans in proposing a tax cut when he cited the 300 millionaires at Broadcom as people deserving of a break.

That’s Republican “logic.”

Let’s not worry about education, health care, the Reagan debt or anything else as long as there is a needy millionaire out there with a tin (gold?) cup.

The last time the public played “tax cut three-card monte” with Republicans the debt ballooned, the rich got massively richer and working class income stagnated.

It’s not class warfare to note that those who work for a living are more deserving of a tax break than those who own stock for a living.

It is class warfare to take money that could go for education, infrastructure, health care and debt reduction and use it to make millionaires richer.

JIM CORBETT

San Clemente

* Kenneth Khachigian is again spouting his usual Republican propaganda in saying that the Democrats are solely responsible for our high taxes.

He says, “Eighteen years of federal tax increases have given the American families the highest tax burden in peacetime history.”

Actually what is causing our high taxes is the 12 years that Republicans Reagan and Bush were in power. Reagan’s tax-cuts-for-votes leadership ran up the national debt to where the U.S. became a debtor nation for the first time in its history. And Bush did little to help bring the debt down.

What is certain is that we taxpayers are paying national debt interest in the hundreds of billions of dollars and will continue to pay for decades to come if the debt is not paid down.

To this Khachigian will surely give the same old response (under his breath, of course): “Who cares what’s good for the country? How in the heck can Republicans get elected if they don’t offer a big tax cut?”

JAMES R. GALLAGHER

Huntington Beach