In regard to Mark Fernald’s letter of Dec. 23 (“Biden addresses problems Republicans caused”) the old legal adage comes to mind of when you have neither facts nor law on your side, pound the table.
First, Congress controls both taxes and spending in Washington. Fernald wants you to blame former President Donald Trump for everything under the sun (ultimately), so he puts forward the fallacy that presidents are responsible for deficits (except Democrats.
Second, let’s accept Fernald’s “President Standard” for argument’s sake. When President Joe Biden was vice president under Barack Obama, they doubled the deficit from $10 trillion to $20 trillion during their period in office. And now Biden’s “Build Back Broke” bill would add trillions more, in a single bill.
This is important to understand because these deficits are hammering you now through high inflation rates and strapping your children and grandchildren with an impossible debt to pay. As for Trump, his tax cut proposals, enacted by Congress, were net revenue-positive by bringing unparalleled economic prosperity to America.
That said, Trump and Congress had an unprecedented COVID outbreak to deal with, fiscally, in lieu of total economic ruin. Any president would have done so, none as well as Trump.
Fernald has failed to convince New Hampshire voters to support an income tax for decades. Why? Because it’s a terrible idea for our economy and most folks know it. Yet he’s back here ringing the tax bell again.
Fernald criticizes Trump for the Afghanistan pullout disaster, but it was Biden who pulled out in chaotic fashion, leaving $80 billion in military equipment in enemy hands. Fernald finishes his letter with the obligatory Democratic “conspiracy theories from outer space” jargon, emblematic of someone who has lost the debate. Just more table-pounding. Very sad.
Mark Carter
Peterborough