7.13.00
Three Cheers for the "Do-Nothing" Congress

7.07.00
Why Teacher Pay Raises Fail

6.27.00
The Politics of the Surplus

6.21.00
The Power of the Purse

6.09.00
A Big Tax Win — and A Loss

6.07.00
Battle of the Sexes

5.25.00
Goldilocks Was Wrong

5.18.00
Stop That Train!

5.09.00
States of Confusion

5.08.00
Congress Busts the Bank — Again

his week attack dog Al Gore is blasting the "do-nothing" Republican Congress. Never mind that in this sizzling economy there's a lot to be said for do-nothingism and gridlock. "When you're in the groove economically," says economist Arthur Laffer, "you want to stay in the groove. The less Congress does, the better." Ray Keating of the Small Business Survival Committee has shown that over the past 20 years or so, the economy tends to do better the less Congress does. Economist Jim Bianco of Arbor Trading Co. has documented that the stock market also performs a lot better when the Congress is out of session — and isn't regulating, taxing, spending, or engaging in other meddlesome activities that erase wealth.

Al Gore and the press define "do-nothingism" as failing to pass the Democratic legislative wish list. So the failure to enact a Medicare prescription-drug benefit, campaign-finance "reform" legislation, a health-care bill of rights (really "the trial lawyers' bill of rights"), a minimum-wage increase, day-care subsidies, and so on, is disparaged as a sign of Congress's ineffectiveness. Of course, most taxpayers regard the blockage of these bills (so far at least) as a positive achievement. The greatest virtue of the GOP Congress over the past five and a half years has been its judicious inaction on Bill Clinton's most economically destructive ideas. The president's budget contained some $150 billion of new programs — most of which the GOP has wisely smothered in the crib. Dick Armey, Tom Delay, and Trent Lott have been an effective check and balance and against Clinton's periodic treasury raids.

In any case, this has not been a do-nothing Congress. The Republicans in the House have passed some impressive bills this year, despite their razor-thin 5-seat majority. Here's a list of the accomplishments:

· Repeal of the Social Security earnings test imposed against seniors who continue to work after they reach the age of 65.

· The phase-out of the unfair death tax over 10 years.

· Passage of the free-trade agreement with China.

· Marriage penalty elimination.

· Elimination of the 100-year-old telephone tax.

None of this is regarded as of much consequence, because most reporters don't favor these changes. It's a very peculiar double-standard in Washington that failure to enact a new multi-billion dollar entitlement for Medicare is denounced as a sign of "do-nothingism," but passage of a bill to eliminate the death tax, the most despised and unfair levy in the entire IRS code, is greeted with a ho-hum.

Republicans must not allow themselves to be suckered into passing a liberal shopping list of bad laws for the sake of appearing active and "responsible." That could wreck the economy and the GOP's chances of big wins in November.

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