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Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS A big government quiz By Richard L. Lesher, Pres., Chamber of Commerce of the United States True or false? Because of budget cuts enacted over the past year and a half, federal spending, as a percentage of our Gross National Product, is less now that it was when Jimmy Carter left office. of-fice. True or false? Because of the 1981 tax cut package, the federal government is taking in less money in fiscal year 1982 than it did the previous year. You may be surprised and perhaps disappointed to learn that the answer to both these questions is false! Surprised, Surpris-ed, because the impression created in the media and by both supporters and opponents of current economic policy is that 1) federal spending has been cut so much that legislators, despite the prospect of massive deficits, are finding it politically and practically impossible to cut further, and that 2) we face those big deficits because last year's tax cuts were so large that they virtually gutted the U.S. Treasury. The facts reveal otherwise. In 1980, Jimmy Carter was all but carried out of Washington on a rail for, among other things, allowing federal spending to balloon to a record 23 percent per-cent of our GNP. The new administration administra-tion and Congress rode into town committed com-mitted to reducing that share to 19.3 percent of GNP by fiscal 1984. Yet, spending for the current fiscal year, 1982, will reach 24 percent of GNP, regardless of the howling from special interests about budget cuts. In fact, spending is currently running 10.9 percent per-cent above last year, roughly twice the rate of inflation. The story is the same on taxes. Despite the tax cuts and a severe recession reces-sion (which traditionally slows tax collections), col-lections), revenues are flowing in to the Treasury at a record pace. They are currently running 5.6 percent ahead of last year again, faster than the rate of inflation during the same period. What conclusions can we draw from these hidden facts? First, try as he has, President Reagan must convince Congress Con-gress to take many more whacks at federal spending because it is still spinning spin-ning wildly out of control. Second, the politicians who now claim they need more of your earnings becii&j Treasury has been all but boa , after last year's tax cut are bens ' than forthcoming with the facts ' There is no way to escape the rt; that we don't face hugedeficilsk j : Uncle Sam is collecting less mo : . because spending is skyrocketing - ; faster than tax receipts. Isn't it time that the conservat- Washington reaffirmed the pn:t. '. for which they have fought lor fa and for which they were elected it a Principles such as reducing spending as a share of GNP, w i 1 creasing it; cutting taxes, not r. them; and breaking the entrr ; power of the federal bureaucr; i ' order to create more incentives i i portunities and freedom for the p-1 ' These are great dreams a: , ' respectfully urge our conserv . coalition in Washington todosocw searching about the status ol : ;; dreams nearly two years after Ik i . election -and less than two;' before 1984. It is time to bring Big Brother. ? J control. |