Allan South presents an interesting, but incorrect view of recent history ("Prosperity players," Readers' Forum, Nov. 5). Yes, Bill Clinton did profit from the dot-com boom, but he also did some very heavy lifting in getting the Congress to pass the Deficit Reduction Act. This legislation, probably more than any other factor, resulted in the most prosperous and sound economy we have had in decades. As for the fiscally responsible Congress during this period that South mentions, this is the same Congress that brought us two government shutdowns. South closes his letter stating that we have had a fiscally derelict Democratic Congress. He fails to mention the much more derelict Republican Congress preceding the Democrats' takeover in 2006. This is the Congress that gave us the Medicare prescription drug bill costing millions upon millions of dollars with absolutely no way to pay for it. Finally, South is technically not correct in his last statement. He asserts that the Congress does the spending, not the President. More accurately, the Congress appropriates and authorizes the funds, but the Executive Branch spends the money.
David E. Lowry
Holladay