Force the Veto

And hold them to it all next year.

by Rod D. Martin
September 10, 1999

After almost five years of losing the communications war, Republicans are on the brink of getting one right. Dramatically right.

This summer, Congressional Republicans passed a nearly one trillion dollar tax cut. The plan, which would be phased in over ten years, would not require spending a penny of the Social Security surplus, and would amount to a mere 1% reduction overall. But the key word is "overall": unlike Democratic plans that would "target" much smaller tax cuts for key groups they need to win the 2000 elections, the Republican plan would cut everyone's taxes across the board, something not seen since the days of Reagan.

The Republicans finally managed to get their language right as well: they pointed out that this was not so much a tax cut as a refund of a tax overcharge. Over the next ten years, the average American family will pay $5,300 more in taxes than the government needs, even by its own over-inflated idea of "need". If your light com…