The Public Policy/Kemp-Bradley-Packwood

...In part, such stories reflect the intellectual stubbornness of places like the Journal' s Washington bureau that for years regarded tax cuts with scorn . The Journal news section was writing as recently as a few months ago that tax reform was dead, floundering due to a lack of voter interest . Gregory A . Fossedal is a media fellow at the Hoover Institution and a contributing editor of Harper's...

...We've go t Ralph Nader, the New Republic, and the New York Times editorial page run - ning around promoting the end of the progressive tax system," says Jeff Bell, another member of the Kemp brain - trust who first introduced Bradley to tax-cut economics in their 1978 Senate race . "Jack is smart to let them have the limelight...

...The Wall Street Journal recently ran a huge feature outlining Bradley's impact on tax reform . The piece reduced Kemp to a mere footnote...

...inflation yes n o Index tax o n capital gains yes n o Home mortgage fully deductible yes n o Poor tax : incom e at which famil y of 4 starts payin g income tax $14,400 $11,600 Poor tax : estimated ta x liability for family of 4 at $14,000 none $300 State and loca l income tax deductible no yes Packwood Packwood most resembles . . . 27 010 Kemp yes Kemp no Bradley yes Kemp $13,500 Kemp none Kemp yes Bradley THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR AUGUST 1986 25...

...One of them, though, is Jac k Kemp...

...Kemp made some unfortunate decisions in 198 5 that made his commitment to tax re - form appear doubtful...

...In fact, as the press has noted incessantly in recent weeks, it wa s Packwood, with some stimulus from Democrat Bill Bradley of New Jersey , who drew up the scheme that is winning raves from both Democrats an d Republicans...

...So let's have cheers for the three members of Congress most responsible for the coming passage of tax re - form...

...To the extent reform is now back on track, it's because Packwood and Bradley drew up a bill closely resembling Kemp's original plan...

...Once Bradley and Packwood shifte d back to the Kemp approach—to thei r credit—the results were predictable . Lower rates excited tax-cutting Reagan - ites, while shutting off more loophole s revived the interest of fairness-minded Democrats...

...q The Evolution of Tax Reform: Tax Plans Compared Kemp Bradley Top rate 28 010 30 010 Index tax brackets vs...

...He supported the first Treasury bill's retention o f various oil and gas loopholes ; these can be debated on economic merits, bu t politically, giving in to the oil lobby was bad symbolism . Kemp also came out in flat opposition to the second Treasury bill—rather than takin g Bradley's wiser stance that the proposa l needed fixing but was a step in the right direction . Kemp never seemed to make up his mind what price, in terms of close d loopholes and higher taxes on business , he was willing to pay to buy lower personal tax rates . In this he mirrored th e ambivalence of many conservatives . Human Events, National Review, and the Wall Street Journal editorial page didn't decide until late in the game whether they trusted tax reform or not . "Jack was never very enthusiastic abou t reform," says one close associate...

...Bradley and Packwood deserve major credit for devising and releasing a bold alternative after tax reform degenerated into a hopeless mess in th e Senate...

...So how is it that Kemp's name seems to go virtually unmentioned in majo r press accounts of the tax reform turn - around...

...THE PUBLIC POLICY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KEMP-BRADLEY-PACKWOOD by Gregory A. Fossedal There's a dirty secret about th e popular tax reform shaped by Senate Finance Chairman Bob Packwood o f Oregon...

...Bill Bradley did i t on his own," Bell said . "He came at this from a liberal angle, briefe d himself, and put together a proposal . " It just so happens that on tax reform , the ideas of people like Bradley and Kemp now intersect . "Bradley's gotten more notice in the press," says Joni Sarles, an aide to Packwood . "He had the most impact . But it's true our bill is very similar to Kemp-Kasten . Heck, Kemp-Kasten is very similar to BradleyGephardt . " In fact, pro-reform lobbyists say perhaps the major obstacle left will b e to change the Kemp-Bradley-Packwood bill sufficiently, in a coming House - Senate conference, so that Ways an d Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, the Illinois Democrat who shaped the House reform bill, can pretend he made some contribution to th e process . Rosty's bill, like the early Packwood proposals, closely resembled the Bradley bill of 1983 and th e Treasury Department's plan of 1985 , leaving many loopholes intact an d keeping tax rates up at 30 to 35 percen t and more...

...Even in recent months, it's been organs like the New Republic and the New York Times business section that have been most interested and informed about tax reform . And if Kemp deserves credit for conceptual foresight, so do people like Joseph Pechman at the Brookings Institution— who were talking about refor m twenty years ago...

...He had a tough time figuring out whether to stick with it when the Chamber o f Commerce crowd came out against th e whole approach...

...Of course, there's more to the stor y than Kemp's generosity...

...Yet, as the accompanying char t shows, the now-popular approach taken by Packwood already existed— in a bill drawn up by Mueller for Kem p back in 1984...

...The bill, now breezing through the Senate, was actually produced b y John Mueller—a top aide to Congress - man Jack Kemp of New York...

...Thus Kemp, wisely or no, has kept a deliberately low profile...

...The result is a Kemp-BradleyPackwood tax reform that Senate Maj ority Leader Robert Dole says may reach the President's desk by Labo r Day...

...Not that Mueller actually sat dow n and drafted the present bill word by word...

...It's also true, though, that Kemp has done little, at least in recent months, to lobby for his own ideas in Congress . "Jack would just polarize things if h e got too involved," says a longtime adviser...

...It would make it hard for people like Bush, Dole, and all the Democrats to save face...