Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are either uniformed or misleading as to the effect of the Bush tax cuts.

The Bush tax cuts were a bonus for the millionaires and billionaires of this country by cutting their tax rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent. The result was a measly 1 million jobs created over eight years and turning a surplus into a careening national debt of over $10 trillion while tanking the value of our dollar.

The old tax rate under President Clinton received zero Republican votes in 1993 and the GOP cried it would kill the economy and stifle business growth. The real result was 22 million jobs created in an eight-year period and our greatest prosperity since World War 2.

The fact is this: For every dollar the government spends on unemployment OR infrastructure it receives about $1.60 in economic growth; for every dollar the government spends on the Bush tax cuts it receives 29 cents in growth.

One of the best Republican presidents, Dwight Eisenhower, vigorously defended his upper tax rate of 91 percent. According to modern day tea partiers and Republicans this makes him a pure wealth redistributing socialist. Want more facts? Ronald Reagan's top tier tax rate was 50 percent. Wow, what a communist.

Risch and Crapo continue to block unemployment help in the name of national debt, yet have no problem adding to our debt with tax cuts for Wall Street kings and the ultra rich. The estate tax they complain about is tax free for the first $3.5 million, so you have to ask who are they really fighting for when they want a zero estate tax rate for anyone inheriting more than that?

These are all undisputed facts readily available from the Congressional Budget Office.

If you are unemployed and vote for these champions of Wall Street you deserve what you get, which is no unemployment help a tanked economy and taxes which go right to the wealthy who derailed our prosperity. The problem is your vote also takes down the people who know better. When you look at the economic shape of America honestly ask yourself, did Bush and the Republicans leave it better than they found it ?

 CHAD SOLSVIK

Coeur d’Alene