To the Editor:
I suppose the opinions, mostly by academics, regarding Obama's tax structure and raising taxes on the wealthy (U/T Sunday, Feb. 19, Business Section) were meant to deliver an air of credibility to the notion that higher taxes on the wealthy are a bad idea. All but one concurred that it is a bad idea. How wrong they are. It has long been accepted that a measure of how well the economy is doing is the increase of Federal debt as a function of GDP, expressed as percentage gain or decrease. With higher taxes, debt/GDP growth from the Roosevelt/Truman administrations through the Carter administration ranged from -24.9 % to +.2 %. With lowered revenue, debt/GDP increased to + 20.6 % in the Reagan administration and another 15% in the George H.W. Bush administration. It was reversed in Clinton's administration to -8.6% by the end of his two terms. It then took a sharp turn positive in the George Bush administration and has remained positive with Obama as president. Higher taxes on the wealthy is an important element in a healthy economy, as a significant source of revenue. Your selected academics would be good choices for the task of creating a misery index for the wealthy that corresponds to higher taxes.
Sincerely,
Edward Hujsak
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