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Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS Does being president mean never having to soy you're sorry! By Richard L. Lesher, President Chamber of Commerce of the United States The President deserves an Oscar. After solemnly announcing: "I believe current conditions argue for restraint," Mr. Carter proposed a budget in which federal spending will soar by at least $60 billion and taxes by $40 billion in the next fiscal year along. That takes brass! But let's not get carried away with those silly little statistics. After all, the President didn't. In fact, he never even mentioned them. What he did emphatically em-phatically claim was this : His budget is both "prudent and responsible," because after allowing for inflation, it calls for virtually no real increase in federal spending. Well now, just think about that for a moment. When Mr. Carter arrived in the White House in 1977, thetrate of inflation was increasing by less than five percent a year. Today, the rate of increase has almost tripled; it is close " the 15 percent. So let's assume he could do as good a job fighting inflation during the next three years, as he has during the last three. By 1983, the rate of inflation, having nearly tripled again, would be increasing in-creasing by almost 50 percent a year. But, using his special "Carter logic, the President could once again address that nation and announce with a perfectly per-fectly straight face: "Current conditions con-ditions argue for restraint. Thus, I am submitting a very prudent, responsible budget. Federal spending will increase next year by only 45 percent, or about $500 billion, which, as you all know, is actually less than our present rate of inflation. Indeed, since my budget calls for no real increase in federal sp-i, it will not be an inflationary force d ecomony." Wheee! What fun. With trickj t that, the Administration could our inflation rate all the way to , percent, without ever having to say" sorry. Could all this be pure fanLasy j feel nervous when I remember v Carter's promise of regulatory was followed by the creation of big a bureaucracies and huge sperdi , creases for regulatory programs. t' I feel worse when I remember pledge to never raise taxes on wort Americans w as followed by the big, tax increases in post-war history i now I am frankly terrified, beciyti has promised to make fighting icf' his number one priority. I would make it number two...-.; then he would try' harder! |
