Stockman Repudiates Reaganomics

In 1980 I made a feeble attempt to enter national politics when I was candidate for United States Congress in Michigan’s fourth Congressional District. My opponent, David Stockman, was very popular, well-financed, and had a national reputation as a congressman. It was a losing battle but I had a lot of fun and met a lot of interesting people. Stockman overwhelmed me in the election and soon afterwards was chosen by President Reagan to be his budget director. Stockman assisted in the development of the doctrine of Reaganomics. At the time I thought it was just voodoo economics as George Bush had claimed.

Imagine then my interest last night when Stockman was interviewed on national television. When asked about Reaganomics he surprised me by stating frankly, “it didn’t work.” When asked about the current situation especially regarding the Bush tax cuts Stockman said, “they should all be repealed.” “But,” asked the interviewer, “don’t tax cuts generate more revenue?” “No they don’t!” Stockman replied. That’s partly what’s responsible for getting us in the mess we’re in right now, he indicated.

So, there you have it. One of the architects of Reaganomics has repudiated the work of his own hands. He’s no flaming liberal, just a commonsense conservative. From my perspective, the conservatives who are attempting to impose their will in Washington should pay attention to what David Stockman has to say.