Letters to the Editor

Letter: Republicans and deficits

Since the Reagan presidency, the GOP has adhered to the policy of no taxation espoused by Grover Norquist and the organization he founded, Americans for Tax Reform, a very influential force in Republican politics.

Since then, GOP candidates have toed the ATR line and resisted tax increases even at the cost of ballooning deficits, which they have used as an excuse for slashing government services. This is what we are seeing now in Washington, D.C., with Sen. Mitch McConnell recommending cuts to Social Security and Medicare after pushing through tax cuts for the wealthy projected to add $164 billion to the deficit in 2018 and $230 billion in $2019.

This cynical ploy to plunge the nation into unsustainable debt in order to justify spending cuts that will disproportionately affect the poor and middle class is what we are about to see in Alaska with the election of Mike Dunleavy and the end of the moderate coalition in the Senate.

In Alaska, this policy will manifest itself in the inevitable cuts to education and public safety. If you liked Parnell, you’re going to love the Dunleavy administration.

— Thomas E. Crowley

Anchorage

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