Thursday's Opinion page presented quite a contrast. At the top of the Letters column, Jim Gowan argued that solving the fiscal crisis in Washington requires asking more from all Americans. He calmly and rationally pointed out that a financial mess of this magnitude can't be solved without the shared sacrifice of all Americans, not just the wealthy.
In contrast, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Kevin O'Brien injected reams of partisan nonsense between a few accurate observations. He refers to the "precipitous tax increases" that will come on Jan. 1 as an "economy-wrecking disgrace."
In fact, the tax rates will simply revert to what they were under President Bill Clinton. Anyone who can remember back 12 years ago knows that the economy did just fine with those tax rates, thank you very much. And a Democratic president, working with a Republican Congress, passed years of balanced budgets using those tax rates.
Yes, the middle class will have to pay more -- as Gowan points out that we rightly should.
The contrast between Gowan's thoughtful letter and O'Brien's column makes it clear that The Plain Dealer is employing the wrong person.
Michael Buescher Cleveland Heights