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U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, used his incumbency last week to announce “our tax dollars are going right where they belong – in our pockets”.

Last winter, the Federal Reserve urged Congress and President Bush to enact a short-term tax relief bill to promote consumer spending. For this columnist’s family, the rebate will amount to $1,500. Kagen joined Wisconsin’s entire congressional delegation – minus Jim Sensenbrenner – in voting for the rebates. Now the novice lawmaker is hoping to cash in his vote for the Economic Stimulus Act for another term.

But Kagen’s sunny disposition on the tax relief neither matches his overall record on taxes, nor his repeated assertions that the economy is in the dumps. Kagen vowed to “address the root causes of our nation’s economic recession” in a January press release. Weeks later the representative merely said the country faced “economic troubles”. In other forums, he told reporters the country was getting closer to a recession.

Recessions are marked by two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Well, the doctor and some economists have some explaining to do given the economic performance of the first quarter. Kagen expected a decline. Instead the economy just grew at 0.6%. Consumer spending also left pundits scratching their heads by increasing by 0.4%. All of this happened even before the federal stimulus checks reached voters.

The rebates will certainly be a welcomed supplement income to families in Northeast Wisconsin. Anything that keeps money in the private sector is preferable to a government-sponsored “investment”. But it’s the 2003 tax relief that continues to deliver economic gains. “People are having a tough time keeping their heads above water, and this rebate money will give folks a lift,” Kagen said this week.

But before voters think Kagen has suddenly had a change of heart on tax cuts, his two-year record on taxes needs to be examined. “Congressman Kagen has voted with the National Taxpayers Union just 7 percent of the time,” John Gard said in April. Indeed, Kagen’s record on taxes is troubling. He’s voted with liberal Democrats to repeal most of the 2003 tax relief including the $1,000 child tax credit. If the Kagen-supported budget were to be enacted, $683 billion would be taken out of the private sector.

“All told, it’s estimated that Steve Kagen’s vote would lead to a tax increase of $1,667 for the typical taxpayer in the 8th Congressional district,” Gard continued. So this columnist might be getting $1,500 in stimulus only to watch $1,667 return to the federal government.

Kagen has given Gard an advantage on taxes. Gard is able to face voters and say, “I’ll vote like you”. When Kagen boasts of raising the minimum wage, Gard can say he’ll vote to keep the child tax credit and eliminate the marriage and death penalty taxes for good. When Kagen talks about PAYGO, Gard’s team can highlight support for a Balanced Budget Amendment and Line Item Veto.

In two years Kagen has managed to approve a budget request that exceeds the President’s. And Kagen managed to support $680 billion in higher taxes. By voting with his colleagues to enact that agenda, Northeast Wisconsin will be sending Kagen back to the allergy clinic this fall. The economy needs the 2003 tax cuts made permanent.

Kagen’s correct that tax dollars “belong – in our pockets”. Except it’s Gard that will win with that message.

Rahmlow is a former field director for Michels for Senate and briefly served as the Campaign Manager for McCormick for Congress in 2006.   

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