The Tax Cut that won the Cold War

Being a Cold War history freak, I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to share this with you. A fellow named Drew McKissick has posted "The Tax Cut that won the Cold War" on the Wizbang Bomb Squad.

A few weeks ago marked the silver anniversary of one of the most pivotal events in American economic and foreign policy history. It was twenty-five years ago on August 13th that Ronald Reagan signed into law the Kemp/Roth tax cuts, also known as the Economic Recovery Act of 1981—legislation which helped set in motion the events which shaped the world in which we live today.

The bill reduced American income tax rates by approximately one-third across the board, and unleashed the pent up power of an economy besieged by double digit inflation, double digit interest rates and double digit unemployment.

The result was an economy that grew at phenomenal rates, created tens of millions of jobs, raised personal incomes and more than doubled overall revenues to the US Treasury, (something liberals and most economists said couldn’t happen). In addition, investment and entrepreneurship blossomed, helping to foster the technology boom that has impacted just about every aspect of our lives.

It's a wonderful article. Something our kids should learn about in their history books.

April 28, 1986

Today is not the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. That was two days ago, on April 26, 2006. Instead, today is the 20th anniversary of the Tass News Agency report announcing the disaster to the people of the former Soviet Union and confirming what the world had already discovered.

An accident has occurred at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant - one of the atomic reactors has been damaged. Measures are being undertaken to liquidate the consequences of the accident. Those affected are being given aid, and a government commission has been created.

Can you imagine something like that happening today? I can't. Too many freedoms have been unleashed in the former Soviet Republics that make keeping such an event secret, even for a few hours, a Herculean task. The world saw that a few years ago with the Kursk submarine incident. Certainly, many more freedoms need to be unleashed in that part of the world, but between that date and today, the United States won the Cold War. Those freedoms can grow in fertile ground.