Newsgroup: it.fan.culo
Titolo: Reagan: un modello di politica fiscale

http://www.repubblica.it/news/ired/ultimora/rep_nazionale_n_721891.html
Sassari, 15:58
Morte Reagan, Berlusconi: un modello di politica fiscale
Un esempio cui guardare soprattutto per la politica fiscale. E' il commento
di Silvio Berlusconi su Ronald reagan, l'ex presidente Usa scomparso ieri
dopo una grave malattia. Un presidente "straordinario" sia per le
ripercussioni internazionali provocate dal suo progetto di scudo stellare
ma soprattutto per la sua riforma fiscale, un modello al quale il premier
ha detto di ispirarsi per quella che intende fare in Italia.
"Dobbiamo a Ronald Reagan una intuizione straordinaria - ha sottolineato
Berlusconi a Sassari- perché con la sua realizzazione dello scudo stellare
ha consentito l'implosione dell'Unione Sovietica. La sua politica ha
prodotto un cambiamento nella storia che nemmeno i più ottimisti potevano
prevedere".
"E' stato un repubblicano, un liberale e soprattutto un presidente a cui
noi guardiamo - ha aggiunto il presidente del Consiglio - anche per ciò che
fece nel settore fiscale. Fu lui ha ridurre le aliquote dei cittadini
americani più abbienti, con un effetto di caduta dell'evasione
straordinario. In pochi anni le casse dell'erario federale introitarono il
doppio di quello che introitavano in precedenza con le aliquote del 5% dei
più abbienti. E' un esempio che ci apprestiamo a seguire e io spero che
porterà a un'ulteriore crescita delle entrate dell'erario e a uno sviluppo
dell'economia di cui abbiamo bisogno".
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New Magic Flash

 Morte Reagan, Berlusconi: un modello di politica fiscale
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/opinion/08KRUG.html?pagewanted=print&position=
The Great Taxer
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Over the course of this week we'll be hearing a lot about Ronald Reagan,
much of it false. A number of news sources have already proclaimed Mr.
Reagan the most popular president of modern times. In fact, though Mr.
Reagan was very popular in 1984 and 1985, he spent the latter part of his
presidency under the shadow of the Iran-Contra scandal. Bill Clinton had a
slightly higher average Gallup approval rating, and a much higher rating
during his last two years in office.
We're also sure to hear that Mr. Reagan presided over an unmatched economic
boom. Again, not true: the economy grew slightly faster under President
Clinton, and, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates, the
after-tax income of a typical family, adjusted for inflation, rose more
than twice as much from 1992 to 2000 as it did from 1980 to 1988.
But Ronald Reagan does hold a special place in the annals of tax policy,
and not just as the patron saint of tax cuts. To his credit, he was more
pragmatic and responsible than that; he followed his huge 1981 tax cut with
two large tax increases. In fact, no peacetime president has raised taxes
so much on so many people. This is not a criticism: the tale of those
increases tells you a lot about what was right with President Reagan's
leadership, and what's wrong with the leadership of George W. Bush.
The first Reagan tax increase came in 1982. By then it was clear that the
budget projections used to justify the 1981 tax cut were wildly optimistic.
In response, Mr. Reagan agreed to a sharp rollback of corporate tax cuts,
and a smaller rollback of individual income tax cuts. Over all, the 1982
tax increase undid about a third of the 1981 cut; as a share of G.D.P., the
increase was substantially larger than Mr. Clinton's 1993 tax increase.
The contrast with President Bush is obvious. President Reagan, confronted
with evidence that his tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, changed
course. President Bush, confronted with similar evidence, has pushed for
even more tax cuts.
Mr. Reagan's second tax increase was also motivated by a sense of
responsibility — or at least that's the way it seemed at the time. I'm
referring to the Social Security Reform Act of 1983, which followed the
recommendations of a commission led by Alan Greenspan. Its key provision
was an increase in the payroll tax that pays for Social Security and
Medicare hospital insurance.
For many middle- and low-income families, this tax increase more than undid
any gains from Mr. Reagan's income tax cuts. In 1980, according to
Congressional Budget Office estimates, middle-income families with children
paid 8.2 percent of their income in income taxes, and 9.5 percent in
payroll taxes. By 1988 the income tax share was down to 6.6 percent — but
the payroll tax share was up to 11.8 percent, and the combined burden was
up, not down.
Nonetheless, there was broad bipartisan support for the payroll tax
increase because it was part of a deal. The public was told that the extra
revenue would be used to build up a trust fund dedicated to the
preservation of Social Security benefits, securing the system's future.
Thanks to the 1983 act, current projections show that under current rules,
Social Security is good for at least 38 more years.
But George W. Bush has made it clear that he intends to renege on the deal.
His officials insist that the trust fund is meaningless — which means that
they don't feel bound to honor the implied contract that dedicated the
revenue generated by President Reagan's payroll tax increase to paying for
future Social Security benefits. Indeed, it's clear from the arithmetic
that the only way to sustain President Bush's tax cuts in the long run will
be with sharp cuts in both Social Security and Medicare benefits.
I did not and do not approve of President Reagan's economic policies, which
saddled the nation with trillions of dollars in debt. And as others will
surely point out, some of the foreign policy shenanigans that took place on
his watch, notably the Iran-contra scandal, foreshadowed the current
debacle in Iraq (which, not coincidentally, involves some of the same
actors).
Still, on both foreign and domestic policy Mr. Reagan showed both some
pragmatism and some sense of responsibility. These are attributes sorely
lacking in the man who claims to be his political successor.  
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New Magic Flash

 lacking in the man who claims to be his political successor.  
  il silvio?
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ANNOYED BY AIRCRAFT. SINKING. U-15.