We can’t afford the Bush cuts anymore.
For the last few months, we have heard powerful, passionate arguments about the need to cut America’s massive budget deficit. Republican senators have claimed that we are in danger of permanently crippling the economy. Conservative economists and pundits warn of a Greece-like crisis, when America can borrow only at exorbitant interest rates. So when an opportunity presents itself to cut those deficits by about a third—more than $300 billion!—permanently and relatively easily, you would think that these very people would be in the lead. Far from it.
The Bush tax cuts remain the single largest cause of America’s structural deficit—that is, the deficit not caused by the collapse in tax revenues when the economy goes into recession. The Bush administration inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton administration. What turned these into deficits, even before the recession? There were three fundamental new costs—the tax cuts, the prescription-drug bill, and post-9/11 security spending (including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars). Of these the tax cuts were by far the largest, adding up to $2.3 trillion over 10 years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly half the cost of all legislation enacted from 2001 to 2007 can be attributed to the tax cuts.
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23 comments:
Unbelievable to say the Bush tax cuts are the single largest contributor to the deficit. They are not bigger than the Trillion Dollar stimulus package that stimulated noting. They are not bigger than the 800 Billion dollar medical package that is a complete disaster. They are not bigger than the rest of the wasteful programs implemented in the last two years.
More than anything else they tend to provide the means to keep a few more people employed, a few more investments in our faltering economy to be made, and enough net income for working families to survive. Remove the tax reductions and unemployment will rise another percent - maybe even two - linger longer, and add another 5% burden to those few who are able to find work.
Wow, I must say this is the first post on this blog I agree with 100%. Bush crippled the economy with all the tax breaks that he put in place, not to mention the wars. There was a report on NPR this morning, saying that the wars are costing us 1.2 million dollars a year per soldier, of which on average only about $55,000 of which is their salary.
It is a catch 22 situation. We need to cut the deficit and taxes will need to eventually be raised in order to do it. However, raising taxes at this time will really hurt the economy by taking a lot of spending money out of the hands of the people. Maybe we need to see the govt cut back on spending first and then maybe I'll be ok with raising taxes. Spending needs to be curtailed drastically and taxes need to be raised in order to get our national finacial situation under control.
This guy's argument is the president should allow the Bush tax cuts to go into effect as planned, even on those making less than 250,000 a year, because most americans pay very little or no federal income tax. Okay Mr. Zakaria, what about all the other taxes those americans pay on a daily basis? Let's see, state income tax, county tax, property tax, sewer tax, water tax, motor vehicle tax, cigarette tax, alcohol tax, gas tax, state sales tax, utility tax, and on and on and on....
I should have known better than to read that article, now my blood pressure is up again...
Please, please, please, beam me up Scotty...
nothing will make a difference... NO ONE wants to believe that it is the middle class, who makes the economy work... We work the materials and we spend our money when we have extra to spend... Taking away tax cuts and adding more taxes will not make me spend my money hence the economy will stay the same... when you raise the taxes even more, you making the middle class again not spend... when we don't spend we have a rescission... I am at the point where I want this country to fall so we can actually have something to work towards and to START making it better... Because once you take 100% of taxes from people and your still no where but in debt, how will you then get more money when the middle class is taxed to the fullest... If the govmt would stop letting them damn non-working sob's get free shit that would help...
Its all over it will collapse in time.
This is a very provocative article. It makes my blood boil. If there are these kinds of people that think paying more in taxes is good, then why don't they cut the IRS a check? Go ahead, send all you can. Put it on your credit card. This guy doesn't know anything about economics or history.
You BLOOMING idiots! It's the SPENDING and WASTE that create the deficit....not tax cuts!
STOP SPENDING!!!!!
Good article.
12:40, correct. But neither Dems. or Reps. are willing to risk elections to push for the necessary cuts in the programs draining us the most (defense, ss, medicade, medicare). Reps. would rather blame "welfare queens in cadillaces" and the 10% unemployed who can't find jobs during this recession.
Congress is the entity that PASSES INTO LAW just about all the spending done....What I would like to see is the NRA (or some other group with a national following and the guts to do it) to call for something along the lines of the "Million Man March", only this time call for a million ARMED men and women to march into D.C. and throw these lying, cheating, pompous, holier-than-thou, smarter than the peasants that were stupid enough to elect us, slimy scoundrels out the window...at gunpoint and preferrably out the second story window. That would also have to include their bloated 70-100 person STAFFS. Maybe----just maybe--- we could then control spending. Without THAT control, we are done -- cooked to the bone --- as a country. In less than 10 years, we will be a third world country....like empires of the past, our military will be the last tool of power we will have and eventually even THAT will become worthless.....
The government is to big and to wasteful . The government needs to shrink, lower taxes and get out of the way of business .
When Bush had a republican majority in congress we had a record breaking economy when Pelosi and Reid took over the economy collapsed .Don't forget when Bush took office we were in a recession .
BS !!!!
How about we cut welfare and stop paying people to have babies and buy beer and cigs with their ?WIC card. How about we force these lazy bums to get a job and tax them. A low tax on a new income is worth more than a higher tax rate on a high income. We win twice - we get revenues in and stop paying money out. Plus we give a bum a job - crime rate, pride, familial impacts, etc.
anonymous 1:54, Lower my taxes, get out of our way. OK, so just who is it YOU feel should be running this country. I'll guess you're from Maryland. You'll probably vote for Ehrlich, (same old, same old) and you'll be crying because your front end is out of allignment because of pot holes in the roads, because government got out of your way.
I really wish some of you people would come up with ANSWERS and or Candidates we can all believe it.
Anyone that is collecting a check should be working doing something. If they are in prison they should be made to raise their own food. That means planting a garden and raising cows, pigs, chickens etc. They could also have the inmates making clothing instead of it coming from another country. How many other things could they make so that things would be affordable and NOT have to be imported from another country. If people collect welfare or unemployment they should also be made to work. There are a lot of things they could be doing. Look at how high the weeds are in some places. Put them to work tending to that. Have them do something rather than sitting on their behinds while they keep collecting money. If you don't work you don't eat plain and simple.
What about the Fair Tax?
2:00, apart of the "welfare queen" crowd I was talking about. Do us all a favor. Turn off Rush and look at the #'s yourself. The cost of the programs I mentioned vastly outweigh the cost of WIC, public housing, and unemployment COMBINED. But people like you like to wrongly blame the poor which lets Reps. get away with doing nothing but cook up half-baked skeems. All the while Dems. blame the rich and dummy lefties fall for it, all the while letting Dems. cook up half-baked skeems. Get the facts BEFORE developing an opinion people.
1:54 get out of our way. Isn't that what we did for the banks, dropped all the oversite and regulations, and look what they did.
Some of you are so gullible and believe everything you see or hear in the Zionist Media.
The "debt" is money. Money is debt. The international bankers print their own money - out of thin air!
We owe them nothing! As a matter of fact they are criminas for inflating our money supply - and therefore, for de-valuing our currency. It is criminal and it is treason.
The Federal Reserve is neither Federal nor do they have any reserves.
They expect us to pay them back for money they printed out of thin air - and then to add insult to injury they expect us to pay interest on the printed money!
Wake up Americans so you will realize you are not free.
Man, I wish people would do 5 minutes of research before word-vomiting. Federal tax revenue increased in each year from 2003 to 2008. Historically, tax cuts lead to increased revenue, as it takes away the incentive to cheat and lowers the threshold for making business investment decisions (i.e. if the tax rate is lower, a lower rate of return in required to move forward with an investment) Conversely, tax increases have historically led to reductions in revenue. Look at Maryland's "tax the rich" philosophy, which the geniuses in Annapolis projected would raise $200 million, and instead revenue went down $160 million.
It is correct to say that the deficit is the result of spending that outpaced revenue, and that is the fault of both republicans and democrats who all act irresponsibly when it comes to spending.
If you really want to raise your blood pressure,consider this.Alot of the people who make a living from not working usually get whopping tax refunds on the little bit of money they scam out of our government thanks to our tax codes.Married working class people have it the toughest in this country tax-wise.I will never understand how someone who doesnt work gets thousands of dollars at tax time.
10:52 I agree.
5:08, increased tax revenues had a hell of alot to do more with the housing bubble and associated rise in markets than the tax cuts. Reps. forget this just like Dems forget the dot com bubble when touting Clinton
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