Letter from Washington

The State of the Union has channeled Washington talk to the question of who gained and who lost, especially as a result of Ronald Reagan’s enlightened adherence to no tax increases. Jack Kemp clearly gained. His lobbying of Reagan struck home, especially the critique of OMB’s projected deficit numbers, plus the implication that David Stockman had deliberately underrepresented the strength of the recovery to hype the need for taxes.

The businessmen who visited the President five days before the speech also scored, notably Donald Kendall, whose no-tax-rise argument had great point and eloquence. At that same meeting, Richard Lesher, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, produced a telling December Gallup poll which showed that a clear majority of Americans oppose increases in excise taxes, and 50 per cent reject the notion that deficits should be relieved through taxation.

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The State of the Union has channeled Washington talk to the question of who gained and who lost, especially as a result of Ronald Reagan’s enlightened adherence to no tax increases. Jack Kemp clearly gained. His lobbying of Reagan struck home, especially the critique of OMB’s projected deficit numbers, plus the implication that David Stockman had deliberately underrepresented the strength of the recovery to hype the need for taxes.

The businessmen who visited the President five days before the speech also scored, notably Donald Kendall, whose no-tax-rise argument had great point and eloquence. At that same meeting, Richard Lesher, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, produced a telling December Gallup poll which showed that a clear majority of Americans oppose increases in excise taxes, and 50 per cent reject the notion that deficits should be relieved through taxation.