Governor Reagan's Solution? Well, Raise Taxes

September 14, 2003

A BUDGET crisis. An actor who wants to be governor so he
can cut taxes and bloated government. California has seen
this script before. How did Ronald Reagan deal with the
mess he inherited in 1967? First, he pronounced the problem
much worse than he thought it was. Then, he raised taxes -
by a lot.

In his new book, "Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power,"
(PublicAffairs), the journalist Lou Cannon describes the
drama: "No amount of budget reductions, even if they had
been politically palatable, could have balanced
California's budget in 1967. The cornerstone of Governor
Reagan's economic program was not the ballyhooed budget
reductions but a sweeping tax package four times larger
than the previous record California tax increase obtained
by Governor [Pat] Brown in 1959.

"Reagan's proposal had the distinction of being the largest
tax hike ever proposed by a governor in the history of the
United States. He sought tax increases on sales, personal
income, banks and corporations, insurance companies, liquor
and cigarettes. When Reagan unveiled the plan on March 8,
it carried a price tag of $946 million. When it passed the
Senate with various attachments, including a tax on
services that the press dubbed the `shoeshine tax,' the
total was $1 billion. And this from a governor two months
in office who had campaigned on the virtues of tax
reduction!"

They Are Cute, but They Condescend

SOCIAL deconstruction has become blood sport, or at least a
source of revenue for the book business. The latest example
of the genre - "A Field Guide to the Urban Hipster"
(Broadway Books) - takes stock of a slew of familiar
figures - "Glam Rockers," "Thugz," "Laptop Rock Artists,"
"Ravers," "Elizabeth Street Shopgirls" and "Alternaboys,"
among others.

Who gets the sharpest assessment? Perhaps it is the "Indie
Rocker." Here's how it goes:

"Noted for elitism and misdirected precocity, these
Hipsters profess stringent anticorporate/anticommercial
ideals, yet the rabidity of these convictions does little
to dilute their sensitive temperaments. They are musically
obsessed and often condescend to those less familiar with
the minutia of music released on independent rock labels,
or `indie rock.'

"These Hipsters often serve as clerks at small,
independently owned record shops. In such terrain, approach
is strongly discouraged. Though cute and cuddly, they will
strike with sardonic, cynical commentary at the first hint
of dilettantism or ignorance."





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I found this article very interesting.
Arnold Swarzeneggar bolst about carrying a picture of Ronald Reagan and promises to put a bust of Ronald's head on his desk if elected Governor. The parallels of the 1966 economy and 2003 are similar with an actor running for Governor promising to cut taxes. Ironiclly his staff (Rob Lowe Warren Buffet) want tax increases.