Asserting the objective fact that spending did not decrease under Reagan in order to explain to you that fiscal conservatism is defined by tax cutting and economic growth polices is not demeaning by any measure.
"Demeaning" is calling names like, oh, I don't know, "leftist scumbag."
Or treasonous abortionist.
I've been called that.
Falsely implying Reagan drove spending, rather than the Democrat Congress. Pushing a strawman, because the criticism of Rudy wasn't that he failed to reduce spendng, but that he massively escalated spending.
The common perception that Mr. Giuliani has reined in spending results from misleading city budget reporting practices that omit increased spending on debt service and do not adjust for the transfer of one year's surplus to the next.Accurately reported, New York City spending grew 6 percent a year from fiscal year 1997 to 2001, while inflation averaged 2.3 percent. In a comparable period (1985 to 1989) under Mr. Koch, spending grew 6.7 percent a year while inflation averaged 4.5 percent.
New Yorkers should not believe that the recent growth in the number of police officers and teachers was accomplished with budget restraint.
MARCIA VAN WAGNER
New York, Aug. 17, 2001The writer is deputy research director and chief economist, Citizens Budget Commission