Columns

My thoughts on the debate

DONALD J. MYERS, A Mind of
Published: October 6, 2012

The first thing that I have to say is that this was without a doubt the best political debate that I have seen. It may have looked like the moderator had lost control at different times, but that is what made it so interesting.

The president and governor were allowed to go back and forth without much interference. I suspect that the president was in shock at the various facts about economics that Gov. Romney presented and he had no good response.

The president continued to stress that Romney intended to raise a tax of 5 trillion and each time Gov. Romney denied it and explained. It is obvious that the president is a believer of static analysis in economics rather than dynamic analysis. Static analysis believes that if taxes are raised or lowered then revenues increases or decreases a like amount. Dynamic analysis believes that when taxes are increased or decreased, behavior changes and as a result revenues do not change accordingly.

Let me give a few examples. In 1921, President Harding reduced the tax rates. At the time, those earning $100,000 paid a tax rate of 71 percent and that amounted to 30 percent of the total tax revenue. At that time, the tax revenues were $700 million. When their tax rates were reduced to 24 percent their amount of the revenue to the federal coffers increased to 60 percent and the total revenue to the federal coffers was one billion dollars.

When President Kennedy reduced tax rates the tax revenues increased dramatically. When President Reagan reduced the tax rates, annual revenues doubled before he left office. They actually went from half a trillion to a trillion dollars. When taxes are reduced, it provides incentive to work and earn more money which results in the economy growing. That is just too simple for those who believe static analysis but it works wherever it is implemented.

Throughout the debate, it seemed that the president was out of sorts. I suspect that he was completely unprepared to be required to adjust to unexpected questions or to be challenged. Effective leaders respond to unexpected events and can recall past facts and experiences to drive home desired points.

The president did not seem to be able to do that. I doubt that he has ever been challenged since he took the oath of office. Some pundits state that the president considers himself an expert on everything from sports to politics and the smartest person wherever he goes.

Appearing on "The View" or other venues where he is not required to respond to serious questions or at most press conferences where he also is given soft questions did not prepare him for the big time. One may say that any president is constantly under pressure to perform, but think about when President Obama has really been under the gun. Fast and Furious, Syria, and the economy are areas where he has really been given a free ride by the media.

Gov. Romney parried each charge presented by the president with substantial facts and then challenged the president on his job performance. Each topic that was questioned, Governor Romney responded with confidence while President Obama seemed less confident.

The president failed to consistently look at the governor during the debate and that made it appear that he was uncomfortable at being there. It will be interesting to read what the pundits all have to say about the debate and what the next one will be like.

Donald J. Myers, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, is a regular columnist for Hernando Today. He lives in Spring Hill and can be contacted at dmyersusmc@aol.com.