The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Thinks You Are Stupid

I love it when people actually check hyperbolic claims such as "largest in history." I wish people would ask the question "So what?" more often.

MaxSpeak, You Listen!: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD THINKS YOU ARE STUPID:
'In case there was any remaining doubt in the Berkeley faculty lounge, the Congressional Budget Office has now confirmed that federal revenues will rise this year by more than $262 billion -- the largest single-year increase in tax revenues in American history.'

Wow! Such a milestone! But inquiring minds want to know, how many times in the past might such a wondrous event have occurred?

If you start with 1901, with apologies to Millard Fillmore and other ancients, it turns out the answer is 19 times. 19 times, the increase in revenues was 'the largest single-year increase in tax revenues in American history.'

What were some of these wonder years? If we skip past WWII, the first big year was 1969. The next was FY1977, for which we should credit President Gerald R. Ford. Jimmy Carter struck in 1979, and again in 1981. Next is Ronald Reagan in 1987, Clinton in 1994, 1997, 1998, and 2000. (Note: 1994 followed tax increases, 98 and 00 followed tax cuts.) Not until FY2005 does G. Bush break out of the pack.