WP: Tax Cuts Become A Juicier Target

[kskiska]

For President Bush, tax cuts have been an all-purpose elixir, a cure for budget surpluses and a bursting stock bubble, for terrorist attacks and boardroom scandals, for the march to war and a jobless recovery in peacetime.

Now, after three successive tax cuts, and after a record budget surplus has turned to a record deficit, the president faces an unenviable choice. He can either concede that his $1.7 trillion tonic has not worked as advertised, or he can insist that the economy is strong despite the slowdown in growth and job creation.

Last week's news of stagnant job creation has revived the debate over the effectiveness of the tax cuts, the centerpiece of Bush's domestic program. Economists of all political stripes say the tax cuts did jump-start the economy, which was in recession from March to November 2001. But to many, that kick is starting to look more like a sugar high than a cure for the economy's underlying weaknesses.

On Monday, Morgan Stanley's chief economist, Stephen S. Roach, dubbed this "The Mythical Recovery," hooked on three drugs now in increasingly short supply: tax cuts, rising government spending and low interest rates.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54944-2004Aug10.html

[whistle]

1. the George W Bush version of trickle-down economics...

...(neo-cons call it supply-side which is a totally meaningless term) is actually "piss-all-over Americans except the very wealthy economics" and it's time to show George Dubya the door economics.

[MichiganVote]

3. Otherwise known as 'piss on you' economics

[soupkitchen]

2. The rising tide lifts all yachts theory of economics.

[fob]

4. Which means in order to benefit you have tot already own a yacht!!

[shraby]

5. It's supply-side all right....

it supplies the rich with more.