To the Editor:

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan advocated a “balanced approach” resulting in TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act) where the Democrats agreed to bring about $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in new revenue, which on paper, advanced Reagan’s goal of shrinking the federal government.

In practice, TEFRA was almost exactly the opposite. While the tax increases were real, Democrats never delivered on the spending cuts. The 1982 budget deal actually resulted in $1.14 of new spending for each extra tax dollar. Reagan was sorrowful about TEFRA in his memoirs, writing that “later the Democrats reneged on their pledge and we never got those cuts.”