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Clinton lowered Capital gains rates from 28% to 20%, but increased other taxes and closed loopholes:
"Mr. Clinton, in 1993, signed the largest tax increase in American history, and on top of George HW Bush's a couple of years earlier in the midst of a recession. After HW's tax increase, the GDP began to rebound as Bill Clinton took office, promising to focus like a laser on "the economy, stupid". After Clinton's 1993 tax increase on the wealthy, job growth began, and by the end of Clinton's term 23M new jobs had been created."
Capital Gains Jumped Under Clinton And Fell Under Bush For Reasons That Had Little To Do With Either | Stan Collender's Capital Gains and Games
Bush II lowered Capital gains tax rate again to 15%. What is proposed now is raising them back to the level they had been lowered to by Clinton.
Why is it Obama is blamed for the debt then? The point is the only time in the last 30 years the deficit has been reduced significantly was when both sides came together in the 90's to both cut spending and increase taxes. The Congress in the 90's saw that spending cuts, especially in the military, were not enough, they saw that it also required tax increases.
That is what will eventually have to be done again, because it is not possible without doing both spending cuts and tax increases. It is ironic it is the GOP that is balking at cutting government spending now as well as their usual opposition to increasing revenues.
The problem is spending money you don't have. That's a lesson that should be taught in grade school but it seems its a lesson still ignored, even in Harvard.
There is no guarantee that sending DC more money will reduce the deficit. If they cannot live within their means then sending them more money will do no good whatsoever. They will just run through that and continue to borrow until they run out of lenders, and that time appears to be fast approaching.
Then they will just print it as they need it. That's not difficult to predict or understand.