(3 of 6)
Although the White House argues that lowering the capital-gains rate would spur economic growth, many economists predict that it would add billions to the deficit over the long term. That was the least of considerations, however, in the White House and Congress. Says Speaker of the House Tom Foley: "I see little or no evidence that the Administration is pursuing serious deficit reduction."
The catastrophic-health-care program, which lobbying groups for the elderly hailed at its passage, imposed an annual surtax of up to $800 on well-heeled Medicare beneficiaries, who balked at having to pay for benefits that were often duplicated by their private insurance. Last summer they began an intense, well-organized campaign for repeal, even though it could mean eliminating the entire program and leaving millions of needy seniors uncovered. The House voted overwhelmingly to do just that on Oct. 4, but the Senate, while inclined to eliminate the surtax, is trying to keep some parts of the program.
Government by Symbolism. Reagan was a master at this, and Bush has proved a very quick study. When the Supreme Court last July ruled that the burning of the U.S. flag qualified as protected free speech under the First Amendment, Bush and his advisers organized a media event before the Iwo Jima memorial in Washington so the President could call for a constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. Congress shied away from an amendment, but last week it passed a simple criminal law that would impose a jail term of up to one year on anyone who burned the flag. The White House indicated that Bush would let the law go on the books without his signature, because he thought it was probably unconstitutional.
Such high jinks are symptomatic of much broader problems that have both caused and accelerated the emasculation of Government. Washington has been at a political impasse since Reagan's first term, when Congress -- Republicans as well as Democrats -- refused to let him gut popular domestic programs to pay for his huge tax cuts. Instead, the Government decided to have it both ways: tax reduction as well as big boosts in defense spending and increasing middle- class entitlements (notably Social Security and farm supports), offset to a small degree by cuts in programs for the poor. The resulting deficit spending has spurred economic growth, but not sufficiently to cover the gap.
Acknowledging as much, the Democrats have repeatedly ducked or skirted major issues and problems and have been all but powerless to offer effective opposition to the Republican program. Part of their difficulty stems from the weakness, egotism, venality and sheer political cowardice rampant on Capitol Hill today. Much of the current session, in fact, has been devoted to investigating either former members of Congress like John Tower, Bush's first choice as Defense Secretary, or prominent members such as Speaker Jim Wright, who was forced to resign because of his ethical lapses.