The common perception is that the right is better than the left at handling the economy and that conservatives tend to be cautious regarding spending. This opinion overlooks the fact that there are two sides to the economic equation: spending and revenue. When it comes to debt, we must consider both variables.

President Reagan’s tax cuts for the wealthy led to a downturn in the U.S. economy and an increase in debt due to reduced revenue. President Clinton reversed that decline by opening global markets to U.S. businesses and nearly eliminated the annual deficit. However, President Bush implemented additional tax cuts for the wealthy, which reversed this trend. When President Obama was elected, he used stimulus spending and quantitative easing to rescue the economy from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

President Trump once again tanked the economy with tax cuts that disproportionately benefited high-income households. For the third time in 40 years, a Democrat, President Biden, not only successfully turned the economy around but also delivered the strongest economy in the world.

Now, Trump is not only proposing even more tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, which will not only harm our economy, but also undermine our government’s ability to function. The only way to keep the economy humming while also reducing the debt is to increase taxes on the wealthy.

Joanne Garing

North Huntingdon

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