No reasonable person can doubt that the US must eventually raise taxes. The country is running an unsustainable budget deficit. Its tax take, measured as a share of gross domestic product, is the lowest in the OECD. The 1990s suggest the US can raise revenues without damaging growth. Other countries have also managed similar feats. Sweden, for example, which collects 53 per cent of GDP in taxes, has grown faster over the past decade than the US, which collects 32 per cent, counting state and local government. From all this it follows that a distressingly large slice of the Republican party is unreasonable.
任何一位头脑清醒的人都不会怀疑美国最终必须增税。美国目前的预算赤字已难以为继，而其税收与国内生产总值(GDP)之比，在经合组织(OECD)国家当中是最低的。上世纪90年代的历史表明，美国可以在不损及增长的情况下增加税收。其他国家也有类似的成功经验。以瑞典为例，该国税收为GDP的53%，在过去10年里增长快于美国。而把州和地方政府计算在内，美国税收仅为GDP的32%。以上这些事实表明，很不幸地，共和党中有很大一部分人的头脑不够清醒。