Quote:Revenues in 1981 roughly 590 billion revenues when he left roughly 909 billion...


In any given year a higher rate of taxation would lead to a static estimate of more revenue, that doesn't account for the dynamic view of how those rates would have influenced economic decisions and risk or take into account the long-term compounding effects of stimulated economic growth.

That is not measuring just the effect of the 1981 tax cuts, however. Reagan's actions in '82 and '84 were huge revenue increasers. In fact some historians call them the biggest tax increases in peacetime. By broadening the base through his tax reform, he was able to offset the tax cuts of '81. It was a really great set of proposals, but it was NOT the '81 cuts that got that money coming back into the Federal system. Indeed, from what I understand most economists (including those that pushed for the '81 cuts, I believe), think that the effect cuts like '81 only have about a 35% payback through increased wealth offsets. This is not a bash on Reagan. He did a great job of getting down inflation, and I think the later base broadening was a really good thing. But the '81 cuts are given a ridiculous amount of the credit by those who want lower taxes on the rich.

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