When Senator John McCain was asked here this afternoon how he plans to balance the budget, he said that he hoped to do so by stimulating economic growth â and approvingly cited the example of President Ronald Reagan.
There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending.
The exchange occurred at a town-hall-style meeting held in a tent outside Bridgewater Associates, an investment firm. A member of the audience stood up and asked Mr. McCain, who has called for balanced budgets, how he plans to do it.
âBasically, which is it?â the man asked Mr. McCain. âStraight talk: Do you want to raise taxes, cut entitlement spending, cut defense spending, or have a deficit?â
Mr. McCain did not explain how he plans to balance the budget, but spoke generally about hoping to stimulate the economy â and cited President Reagan.
âI donât believe in a static economy,ââ Mr. McCain said. âI believe that when thereâs stimulus for growth, when thereâs opportunity, when people keep more of their money â and the government is the least efficient way to spend your money â that economies improve.ââ
âWhen Ronald Reagan came to office,ââ he said, noting that few in the audience were old enough to remember, âwe had 10 percent unemployment, 20 percent interest rates, and 10 percent inflation, if Iâve got those numbers right. That was when Ronald Reagan came to office in 1980. And so what did we do? We didnât raise taxes, and we didnât cut entitlements. What we did was we cut taxes and we put in governmental reductions in regulations, stimulus to the economy, and by the way, Jack Kennedy also did that as well â and so my answer to it is a growing economy. And I think you best grow the economy by the most efficient use of the tax dollar.ââ
Mr. McCain â who has said that he wants to balance the budget while making the Bush tax cuts permanent, cutting additional taxes, and keeping troops in Iraq â said: âI believe we can grow this economy, and reduce this deficit.ââ
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/asked-about-the-economy-mccain-cites-reagans-example/
There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending.
The exchange occurred at a town-hall-style meeting held in a tent outside Bridgewater Associates, an investment firm. A member of the audience stood up and asked Mr. McCain, who has called for balanced budgets, how he plans to do it.
âBasically, which is it?â the man asked Mr. McCain. âStraight talk: Do you want to raise taxes, cut entitlement spending, cut defense spending, or have a deficit?â
Mr. McCain did not explain how he plans to balance the budget, but spoke generally about hoping to stimulate the economy â and cited President Reagan.
âI donât believe in a static economy,ââ Mr. McCain said. âI believe that when thereâs stimulus for growth, when thereâs opportunity, when people keep more of their money â and the government is the least efficient way to spend your money â that economies improve.ââ
âWhen Ronald Reagan came to office,ââ he said, noting that few in the audience were old enough to remember, âwe had 10 percent unemployment, 20 percent interest rates, and 10 percent inflation, if Iâve got those numbers right. That was when Ronald Reagan came to office in 1980. And so what did we do? We didnât raise taxes, and we didnât cut entitlements. What we did was we cut taxes and we put in governmental reductions in regulations, stimulus to the economy, and by the way, Jack Kennedy also did that as well â and so my answer to it is a growing economy. And I think you best grow the economy by the most efficient use of the tax dollar.ââ
Mr. McCain â who has said that he wants to balance the budget while making the Bush tax cuts permanent, cutting additional taxes, and keeping troops in Iraq â said: âI believe we can grow this economy, and reduce this deficit.ââ
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/asked-about-the-economy-mccain-cites-reagans-example/
