More factors credited with economic success

Did deficits shrink in the 1990s because President Bill Clinton courageously increased rates of taxation, as a front-page story on July 15 asserted? Or did they shrink because the first Republican majority in Congress in 40 years prudentially reformed welfare and restrained growth in spending?

Should Democrats and Republicans share credit for saving government money, at least in the short term, by substantially reducing the size of America's armed forces following the collapse of the Soviet empire? Or should politicians step to the side and applaud developers of computers, software and the Internet? Their innovation led to the creation of new businesses, new efficiencies in established businesses and a flood of new revenue for government.

Let's see articles that more fully acknowledge the variety of factors that determine economic outcomes.

Leon Tabak

Mount Vernon