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Andrew Sullivan states that he is “all in favor of tax cuts,” but that the Republican party is irresponsible to seek tax cuts in a time of deficits. Sullivan argues well, as always, citing this USA Today article:
State legislatures controlled by Republicans increased spending an average of 6.54% per year from 1997 to 2002, compared with 6.17% for legislatures run by Democrats… Republicans cut taxes an average of 1.08% annually from 1997 to 2002 when they controlled both the legislature and governor’s office. Democrats cut taxes 0.59% annually when they were in charge of state government.
He concludes:
I was wrong yesterday. The Democrats aren’t worse. They’re actually better at controlling spending than today’s Republicans.
However, he may not have been wrong. 1997 to 2002 included the anomalous years of the Internet economic boom. They aren’t representative of anyone’s economic behavior during normal times. A study over a longer period of time is required for the excellent comparison Sullivan suggests between the two parties.