GNP blues: a tax cut may be the cure. (Column)

The recovery from the 1990-91 recession has bogged down. The economy is adrift with an excess of industrial capacity and high unemployment. Without added fiscal stimulus, prospects for an economic uptick are dim (see BE Economists' Report, "Achieving Growth In A Slowly Reviving Economy," January 1992). But spending and growth can be boosted--if there is a cut in federal individual income taxes.

The recession, which ran roughly from July 1990 to May 1991, depressed real GNP--gross national product corrected for inflation--by $51.1 billion or 1.2%, a smaller drop than the postwar recessionary average of 2.6%.

The 2% third quarter economic rebound stemmed …