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Re: Under Reagan federal tax receipts tripled.

In FY 1981, receipts were $599.272 billion.

In FY 1989, receipts were $991.104 billion.

Tripled?

1989 would have to be $1.8 trillion for a triple.

Please remember that the inflation rate during that eight year period was 36.4%.

So, just to stay even with inflation, Reagan needed to collect $818 billion in 1989.

A more reasoned year to start would have been 1980, not 1981. Then you should have capped it in 1988, hot 1989.

Federal tax receipts in FY 1980 - $517 billion. You started him off at $599.272 billion. By the same token, you gave him credit for $991.104 billion in 1989, when it should have been $909 billion in 1988. While it does work out pretty close to the same percentages, I think this is more accurate.

His growth was from $517 billion in 1980, to $909 billion 1988. This worked out to a 75.8% growth rate. It’s not the doubling I attributed to him.

I do think you made a good point. It wasn’t a three time’s growth. I will tell you that my memory wasn’t on the mark there, in that the old saying was that Reagan doubled tax receipts, and the Congress tripled spending. I accidentally attribute the growth in spending percent to Reagan’s growth in tax receipts.

Thank you for the mention of these more accurate figures.