Kornell for President

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Sam Kornell refers to the Clinton years as “the most astonishing period of economic growth in American History.” [“Liberal vs. Libertarian II: The Rematch,” 10/2/08, [independent.com/liblibrematch]. He seems to give credit to Clinton because he “reduced the deficit and actually managed to turn it into a surplus.” Would Mr. Kornell be able to list the Clinton policies that created the economic growth and the surplus?

Based on what I saw, it was the private sector, specifically computer- and Internet-related companies, that took the risks and created the jobs that drove the economy. The deficit disappeared because of the tax revenues that came in from the healthy economy. Other than Al Gore creating the Internet :), what government policies created this great economy?

I think Clinton did a good job of not raising taxes too much and staying out of the way of the private sector. But I also think that most anyone one reading this paper could have been president during that time, and the deficit would have turned into a surplus.

Mr. Kornell also states that “responsibility falls primarily on Republicans and the Republican philosophy of laissez-faire economics” for the banking and mortgage problems we have today. A lot of the problems revolve around Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Why are the Republicans primarily to blame for this? The Community Reinvestment Act gave Fannie and Freddie great leverage during the Clinton years, and have most recently been under the watchful eyes of Democratic Senators Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd.

One final question. If I am able to earn $100,000 dollars in a year, how much tax would Mr. Kornell have me pay at the federal level? And what should my taxes be if I am able to make one million dollars in a year (odds of that happening are the same as Kornell voting for McCain/Palin)? — Bill Tuerck

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