Meanwhile, back at the Dole campaign, Dole’s success in using the gas tax as an issue against Bill Clinton has prompted his advisers to consider something bolder in the tax area — maybe a Reagan-style, across-the-board reduction in income tax rates, 15 percent over three years. But a 90-minute private meeting on taxes between Dole, some Senate colleagues, and six conservative economists on May 8 proved a bust, even though it included such bright lights as Chicago’s Gary Becker and Harvard’s Robert Barro. Most of those in attendance leaned away from tax cuts and toward deficit cuts. No surprise here, considering that two of the most vocal participants were Sen. Pete Domenici and Martin Feldstein, both of whom are supply-side skeptics. Newt Gingrich came by for 20 minutes to push an aggressive tax-cutting strategy, but the dominant voice still belonged to the deficit hawks. Dole mostly stayed mum, but his long-standing discomfort with tax-cutting was revealed in a private meeting with a top Republican who proposed a payroll- tax rebate. Dole complained such a rebate would be difficult to pay for. No kidding. So will making up a 20-point deficit in the polls.
