The New York Times uses, of all places, an obituary of Senator Pete Domenici as a forum to re-litigate the Reagan economic record:
Mr. Domenici supported the conservative theory that tax cuts stimulate economic growth. But he went on to grapple with the president himself, as well as with Republican colleagues in the Senate, on the long-term fiscal consequences of the White House's proposed tax cuts and increases in military spending, questioning whether they might spur inflation and defeat any chances of balancing the budget.
Congress passed steep tax cuts in 1981, and critics of the legislation said the reductions only deepened the federal deficit and fueled a subsequent recession. Reagan agreed to a huge tax increase in 1982 to reduce the deficit, and the economy began to rebound.
Got that? The 1981 tax cuts "fueled a subsequent recession," but "a huge tax increase in 1982" meant "the economy began to rebound." In this Timesian economic model, the Federal Reserve and inflation and the dollar don't exist. Tax increases are stimulative, while tax cuts trigger instant recessions. No wonder the Times loved him, writing about what it calls "Mr. Domenici's near-spotless political career":
His bipartisanship made him one of the most respected members of the Senate. "Mr. Domenici enjoys a universal reputation as one of the Senate's hardest-working, most intelligent and most intense members," The New York Times said in an editorial in May 1995...