Because the term “federal income tax” instead of “federal tax” was used in Donald Rumsfeld’s letter (“The Bob Dole tax plan will work,” Voice, Sept. 5), Robert Eisner of Northwestern University questions Rumsfeld’s conclusions that Bob Dole’s economic-growth program is sound (“Wrong numbers,” Voice, Sept. 9).
But Rumsfeld’s basic points are correct. The budget deficits of the 1980s were caused by an increase in government spending. Total federal tax receipts did not decline, even as a share of the Gross Domestic Product: The federal tax share was 18.9 percent in 1979 and 19.2 percent in 1989.
More important, Eisner’s innuendoes about the Dole program are completely incorrect. The Dole program to cut taxes and balance the budget is based on sound economics and is endorsed by more than 50 distinguished economists, including four Nobel laureates in economics–among them Milton Friedman and Gary Becker.
