chief economic advisor paul mccracken explains nixon's reluctance.of any political situation short of a war, where there isn't hesitancy about increasing taxes. that's the least popular thing the political system wants to hear. increased taxes were likely not only to cut inflation, but also to slow the economy. nixon believed the 1960 economic slowdown had cost him the presidency, and his eye was now on the 1972 elections. nixon was a laissez-faire conservative. he feared increased revenues would increase government's size and role. if taxes wouldn't be raised, why not cut back on federal spending? it would have been irresponsible to start with a cleaver, slicing everything, partly because, i'm sure, a year or so later, government would be trying to increase everything they could increase. better to stay in the middle of the stream. if increasing taxes or cutting the budget were unpalatable to richard nixon, perhaps the federal reserve could combat inflation. the inflation rate is a function of the money supply. by restricting the money supply, infla