To the Journal editor:

Overall, compared to just a few years ago, our nation’s economy seems to be doing fairly well while under oldman Joe and his administration.

In the U.S., inflation hit a monthly high of 9.1% in June 2022 and a monthly low of 3% one year later (Statista.com monthly inflation rate). Growth of wages has outpaced inflation since February (Statista.com inflation rate vs wage growth).

The nation’s unemployment rate is definitely not a problem. From 2020 to 2022, it went from 8.05% down to 3.61%, and currently (October) sits at a low 3.9% (macrotrends.net unemployment rate).

Higher interest rates can be painful for those seeking loans. But they can also be welcomed by savers and retired folks like myself who are finally enjoying higher rates of return on money markets, certificates of deposit, and bonds. Higher rates also serve to constrain inflation.

With not much else to get excited about, congressional Republican agitation must be due to the burgeoning national debt. Although, they only seem agitated while a Democrat is in the White House.

I don’t blame them. This year’s interest payment on the debt was $659 billion, up from $476 billion last year. The large increase is mostly due to higher interest rates (Washington Post, Oct. 20).

Thanks to the Norquist Tax Pledge promising never to raise taxes, the only Republican option to national debt reduction is budget cuts, without compromise. The Norquist Pledge came about in 1986 with then-President Ronald Reagan’s blessing (Forbes, June 2, 2015).

For 36 years prior to the Norquist pledge (1950-1985) the top income tax bracket was consistently at 50% or higher, with an average debt-to-GDP ratio at a reasonable 46.12%.

The 36 years that followed (1987-2022) saw top income tax rates consistently below 40%, with an average debt-to-GDP ratio at a much higher 76.19% (F.R.E.D. GFDGDPA188S).

Maintaining a higher top tax bracket rate clearly results in lowering the debt to GDP ratio.

The many resulting tax cuts have consistently favored high income taxpayers. While these cuts were promoted to pay for themselves and deliver economic growth they instead grew the deficit and shifted more wealth to high income households.

Republican legislators are misguided to think the national deficit will be reduced by simply cutting the budget of critical programs and agencies, especially that of the IRS, the hand which funds America.