The $686 Billion Difference

Dems aren't defining themselves on domestic issues

For the past year, Iraq has dominated the Democratic presidential race like no other issue. Now, three months before the Iowa caucuses, the unanswered question is what domestic issue will best define and separate the candidates.

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As Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer said over coffee Thursday morning, ''You would think that there would have been more distinctions drawn on health care. But there is unanimity among the candidates that there has to be a big push for universal or near-universal health care coverage. As a result, voters figure: 'Now that's over with, let's get on to other issues.' ''

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Instead, the focus was over whether to rescind all the Bush tax cuts (the position taken by Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt) or whether to preserve those tax reductions that benefit the middle class (John Kerry's and John Edwards' stance).

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In dollar terms, this is far from a minor political scrap. The liberal Washington-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the federal government would take in an additional $2.5 trillion from 2005 to 2012 if all the Bush tax cuts were rolled back. The middle-class provisions (the child-care credit, the new 10% tax bracket and the elimination of the marriage penalty) account for about $686 billion of that total. So, in essence, the Democratic presidential candidates are squabbling over this $686 billion, or 27% of the overall Bush tax cuts.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031017/5599034s.htm

1984 election: Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I

With the nation facing huge deficits, Mondale told the voters that a raise in taxes was inevitable. "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I," he said. "He won't tell you, I just did." It was a disastrous strategy. Reagan promised prosperity, a strong defense, and balanced budgets without raising taxes. On election day, he lost forty-nine states and carried only MN and DC. Assessing the results, Mondale commented, "Reagan was promising them 'morning in America,' and I was promising a root canal."
http://ontheissues.org/Economic/Walter_Mondale_Tax_Reform.htm