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Republicans are sending onto the field a presidential candidate who perhaps has the least to offer middle-class voters on taxes since the first George Bush in 1992. Of course, Bush lost that year to a Democrat promising only to raise taxes on “the rich” and to cut them for the middle class — exactly Obama’s position now. In his primary campaign, McCain had to endorse the extension of the Bush tax cuts he voted against in the Senate. But they have turned into a trap. Because Obama also wants to extend the middle-class aspects of the Bush cuts, McCain is...

If you believe as I do that the tax hikes proposed by Barack Obama and Democrats are bad for the country, then we are in good company. No less an authority than Nobel Prize winner and Columbia University economist Robert Mundell, a principal contributor to the creation of the euro, says that ending the Bush tax cuts — as proposed by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama — would cause "a big recession, a nosedive." In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mundell said, "the most important thing that could be done with respect to tax rates is to...

"...He also suddenly supports the notion that Tax Cuts and rebates can stimulate the economy, he wants to make a $1000 tax rebate a permanent part of the tax code. Suddenly, we are supposed to believe that Obama is a supply-side economist, someone who believes that tax breaks actually create more tax revenue. He has said this will stimulate the economy, it runs counter to everything we know about him up to this point, except for the fact that he wants to tax Corporations and our most successful to pay for it. These so-called tax rebates that he is promising...

Robert Mundell isn't in the habit of making fruitless policy recommendations, though some take a long time ripening. Nearly four decades passed between his early work on optimal currency areas and the birth of the euro in 1999 – the same year he received the Nobel Prize for economics... ...So when Mr. Mundell says that rescinding the Bush tax cuts "would be devastating to the world economy," that oil prices are "not so far off track," that Asia needs its own multilateral currency, or that the ham sandwiches sitting before us could use some mustard, one is inclined to pay...

Despite liberal condemnation of the Bush tax cuts, virtually no one embraces a complete return to their pre-cut level — including the Democratic majority in Congress and both pending presidential nominees. There is good reason.Implicit in this rejection is the admission that they were too high to return to. While the media won't say it now, and certainly wouldn't then, those supposedly halcyon days of fiscal policy rested on historically high tax levels. Taxes got there by increasing retroactively in 1993, adding a 36% income-tax bracket and effectively another of 39.6% through a surcharge on incomes above a certain level....

The fifth anniversary is traditionally the “wood” one. But this year, instead of getting another knick-knack, millions of Americans are celebrating a fifth anniversary with paper. Paper money, that is -- and more of it.         That’s because our country just marked the fifth year of the 2003 tax cuts.        Five years ago, Congress and the president agreed to accelerate the key provisions of the 2001 tax act that: Doubled the child tax credit to $1,000 per child. Fixed the “marriage penalty” -- that quirk of the tax code that forced couples filing jointly to pay more that singles filing...

Democrats' Budget Agreement Assumes Bush Tax Cuts Will Expire By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press CNSNews.com May 13, 2008 Washington (AP) - Democrats controlling Congress are leaving grim decisions on automatic tax increases to the next president and the newly elected Congress under a freshly negotiated House-Senate blueprint for the upcoming budget year. The fiscal 2009 budget plan worked out in private talks between House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., and his Senate counterpart, Kent Conrad, D-N.D., awards an approximately 4 percent increase on average to nondefense Cabinet budgets passed by Congress each year. But it makes no effort...

John McCain, the Republican nominee for President, has proposed extending the Bush tax cuts. So as morning follows night this week, Democratic news analysis has been pouring forth to proclaim that his tax ideas are a threat to the republic because they'll explode the budget deficit. The Senator needs to understand that he can't win this election by playing on this economic turf. The subtext of the criticism of the McCain tax plan is that it would somehow "starve" the government of revenue. The figures being tossed around for the "cost" of the McCain tax plan have been estimated at...

NOTE: since Obama doesn't understand the basics of economic theory, maybe a current example would be helpful for him. Subway sandwiches has a special promotion for any footlong sub for $5. In some cases, that saves up to about $1.70 on a footlong sub. What has that done? According to the store where I have bought more sandwiches than usual, the amount of subs they are selling has increased dramatically. A similar paradox for this lowering of price to increase revenue works with taxes. Lowering taxes raises the revenue to the treasury. It is amazing how that works. If Obama...

President Bush proposed, and Congress quickly passed, an economic stimulus package in the form of tax “rebates” that could total $150 billion dollars back in the pockets of most Americans. The president and Congress agreed that as much as $600 would be returned to individual Americans, or $1,200 per couple, and even more to households with children. The reason given for the rebates is that it will give the economy a needed shot in the arm and likely avoid or lessen a recession. Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? The president’s proposal should forever end the debate whether or...

Congress' $3,000 per Household Tax Increase by Brian Riedl Washington has no budget problems that higher taxes cannot solve. So seems the message from Congress The House- and Senate-passed budgets would raise taxes on every American taxpayer by an average of $3,000 per household. But don’t expect Congress to share in the sacrifice: The budget would hike discretionary spending by 8 percent, and not cut a single government program. First, the tax increase. The largest four-year revenue surge in 40 years has pushed tax revenues to 18.8 percent of GDP -- well above the historical average. Yet the House-passed budget...

WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected calls from both parties' presidential candidates to take an election-year break from pork-barrel spending as a Democratic-run Congress passed budget plans that would torpedo hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts won by President Bush.John McCain, the GOP nominee-to-be, couldn't attract even a majority of Senate Republicans to vote with him Thursday night behind the earmark moratorium touted by party conservatives as a way to restore the GOP's credibility with voters. It failed on a 71-29 vote. Only three Democrats joined with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in voting for it. The underlying...

WASHINGTON - House Democrats neared initial approval of an election-year budget blueprint late Wednesday that would produce sizable surpluses by 2012 by allowing President Bush's tax cuts to expire as scheduled. The $3 trillion budget plan for 2009, expected to pass the House Budget Committee on a party-line vote, would award greater-than-inflation increases to domestic programs. That immediately earned a promise from the White House that Bush would veto subsequent spending bills funding agency budgets. The Senate Budget Committee planned a vote Thursday on a largely similar plan. At issue is the annual congressional budget resolution, a nonbinding document that...

What we need is more production -- real production. And what encourages that is permanent tax reduction. In any economy, growth is a function of people and productivity. An increase of labor or capital will always result in higher levels of output. Unfortunately, the stimulus package being fast-tracked by Washington these days provides little incentive for increasing either. One would have thought by now that the mere escalation of government transfer payments -- whether in the form of rebates (the key element of a tentative agreement announced Thursday) or larger food-stamp and unemployment checks (a Democratic idea that's out of...

Make the Tax Cuts WorkBy LEN BURMAN Published: January 23, 2008 Washington SINCE 2001, Washington’s answer to every policy question has been the same. What should we do with a big surplus? Tax cuts. How do we beat back global terrorism? Tax cuts. Increase energy independence? Rebuild New Orleans? Expand health insurance coverage? Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts. Now comes another question that becomes more pressing each day that the markets lose ground — one to which taxes have long been at least part of the answer. How do we stimulate the economy to prevent or shorten a recession?...

WASHINGTON - President Bush backs tax rebates as the best way to stimulate the economy, but will not detail how big they should be, an administration official said Friday. Democratic congressional leaders agree that one-time checks should be in the package, but are working on a broader measure that would also include aid targeted to the poor and unemployed. Bush planned to lay out his position publicly for the first time later Friday, first in remarks at the White House and later at a Frederick, Md., manufacturing plant. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said earlier that Bush also will outline...

With slower economic growth raising fears of a recession, Washington is abuzz with economic stimulus proposals centered on tax rebates. Tax rebates, however, don't stimulate the economy. Lawmakers currently examining economic stimulus proposals should reject rebates in favor of tax rate reductions.Tax Rebates Don't StimulateBy definition, an economy grows when it produces more goods and services than it did the year before. In 2007, Americans produced $13 trillion worth of goods and services, up 3 percent over 2006.Economic growth requires four main factors: (1) an educated, trained, and motivated workforce; (2) sufficient levels of capital equipment and technology; (3)...

With remarkable speed, Congress, the White House, Republicans, Democrats and even the Federal Reserve have come to a consensus on the need for economic stimulus to moderate and perhaps forestall a recession. It seems certain that the final stimulus package will contain a tax rebate. The underlying theory for the rebate idea traces back to the British economist John Maynard Keynes. He believed that spending was the driving force in the economy. It didn't matter whether the spending was done by businesses on capital equipment, by governments on public works, or by consumers -- spending is spending in the Keynesian...

President George W. Bush's administration is considering an individual tax rebate of up to 800 dollars as a short term measure to help boost the sagging US economy, a media report said Friday. The Republican leader was to unveil a fiscal stimulus plan later Friday, amid grim economic news that has united lawmakers and the Federal Reserve chief on the need to revive flagging US growth. The White House has said Bush would propose policies, not dollar amounts, because details of the plan must be hammered out with the Democratic-controlled Congress. "Privately, the White House has discussed its support for...

WASHINGTON - United for urgent action, the White House and Congress raced toward emergency steps Thursday to rescue the national economy from a possible recession, including tax rebates of $300 or more for many Americans. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsed the idea of putting money into the hands of those who would spend it quickly and boost the flagging economy. All the talk of rescue efforts failed to soothe Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials plunged 306.95 points, underscoring deepening concern about the country's economic health. The sudden scramble to take action came as fears mounted that a severe...

Bush Looks to Reprise Tax-Relief Measures Stimulus Proposal Echoes the Rebates, Breaks Given in '01 By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS January 9, 2008; Page A3 WASHINGTON -- Faced with recession fears, the White House is considering tax rebates for individuals to encourage spending and tax breaks for businesses to encourage investment, according to people familiar with the matter. The plan, if finalized by the administration and passed by Congress, would mark President Bush's first major steps to address the broad economic slowdown. He has limited himself to addressing the wave of home foreclosures and the Wall Street chaos caused by the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, faced with a deteriorating economy and a big jump in unemployment, said Friday it was considering an economic stimulus package that might include tax cuts to ward off a recession. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that unemployment was at a two-year high of 5 percent in December, while employers clamped down on hiring for the month. The amount of new jobs employers added to their payrolls was at a four-year low. Officials stressed that President Bush has not decided yet to offer a proposal but was looking at a variety of options with...

As we enter the New Year I thought it appropriate to reflect on President Bush's tax cuts, the ones that the Democrats and their media flunkies screamed would wreck the US economy by generating an unsustainable deficit. It was easy — and still is — to spring to the conclusion that the Democrats' response was driven by opportunism and a deeply ingrained cynicism. The Democrats also accused the President of playing politics with tax cuts. Of course he did. He would have been stupid not to. In any case, the charge was pretty silly coming from Democrats. What mattered...

Filed at 5:17 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- Negotiations on legislation to stimulate the economy hit another snag Thursday. Republicans accused Senate Democrats of setting impossibly high political standards for a compromise. With the talks on a one-day break, Republicans objected fiercely to a decision by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to require that any deal be acceptable to a solid majority of the 50-member Senate Democratic caucus. Independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont also caucuses with the Democrats. Republicans said that was an unrealistic hurdle for any stimulus bill that includes significant tax relief, given opposition among many ...

<p>The White House is escalating its attacks against Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in an all-out drive to overcome Democratic resistance to a tax-cutting economic-stimulus bill that could be critical to the Republican Party's political prospects in the 2002 elections.</p>

Democrats have only two arguments left against extending the Bush tax cuts, but recent data affirm that neither is valid. Sadly, though, Democrats will never abandon their claims because they fit so well into their class warfare template. Even Democrats can't reasonably deny we've experienced sustained economic growth following the Bush tax cuts. Instead, they've resurrected the canard they used to discredit the phenomenal growth of the supply-side Reagan years: Our economic growth has come at the expense of federal solvency. The growth, they say, is illusory, because it has led to record federal deficits, which means that greedy capitalist...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal deficit so far this budget year is running sharply lower, driven by record revenues pouring into government coffers. The Treasury Department reported on Friday that the government produced a deficit of $157.3 billion for the budget year that began last Oct. 1. That's a substantial improvement from the red ink figure of $239.6 billion produced for the corresponding 10-month period last year. The lower year-to-date deficit was the result of a record of $2.12 trillion in revenues. Spending, however, was higher — $2.27 trillion, which also marked an all-time high. The White House predicts that...

Economy: The Democrat-controlled Congress wants to undo the Bush tax cuts, but the president is talking about more cuts to maintain this robust economy. It's another signal the White House is regaining its footing. The week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid got their clocks cleaned on terrorist surveillance legislation — with party discipline crumbling as 57 Democrats voted with congressional Republicans to give the White House a huge victory — President Bush has followed by boldly bringing up new tax cuts. In an interview with reporters after meeting Wednesday with his economic advisers at...

Red ink in Washington is invariably an excuse for raising taxes, so perhaps falling deficits should be a reason to cut them. The Bush Administration's midsession budget review, released yesterday, estimates that the deficit will have shrunk by more than 50% in three years: to $205 billion in the fiscal year ending this September from $413 billion in 2004. As a share of the economy, the budget deficit is expected to fall to 1.5%, well below the 40-year average of 2.4%. Buoyant tax revenues are the major reason for this deficit reduction. So far this year tax receipts are up...

New Jersey households will see their taxes skyrocket because the 2008 federal budget adopted last week includes "the biggest tax increase on American families in the history of the United States," Republican Rep. Scott Garrett says. Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell could not disagree more. "Nowhere in this budget do we call for an increase in taxes," said Pascrell, D-Paterson. Who's right? A review of the facts and interviews with budget experts shows that Garrett, whose district includes parts of Bergen and Passaic counties, is exaggerating, while Pascrell is telling only part of the story. It's possible, and even probable, that...

The Dow industrials closed above 12,000 for the first time Thursday as investors took in a mixed bag of earnings from leading banks, blue chips and tech companies. "The economy continues to weaken. But everyone is convinced the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing," said the president of one brokerage. The Dow crossed the 12,000 milestone for the first time Wednesday but failed to finish above that number.

This Labor Day weekend, millions of American workers will enjoy barbeques and spend quality time with their families. They should also celebrate that in 2006 they keep more of the fruits of their labor than they could three years ago—and there’s so much more fruit to go around, too. Thanks to the tax relief that President Bush signed into law on May 28, 2003, the economy is strong, jobs are plentiful, and American workers hold on to more of their paychecks each week and face lower taxes on their savings and investments for the future. In 2003, many commentators criticized...

WASHINGTON, July 8 — An unexpectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy is driving down the projected budget deficit this year, even though spending has climbed sharply because of the war in Iraq and the cost of hurricane relief. On Tuesday, White House officials are expected to announce that the tax receipts will be about $250 billion above last year's levels and that the deficit will be about $100 billion less than what they projected six months ago. The rising tide in tax payments has been building for months, but the increased scale is surprising even...

Did you know that just over the past 11 quarters, dating back to the June 2003 Bush tax cuts, America has increased the size of its entire economy by 20 percent? In less than three years, the U.S. economic pie has expanded by $2.2 trillion, an output add-on that is roughly the same size as the total Chinese economy, and much larger than the total economic size of nations like India, Mexico, Ireland and Belgium. This is an extraordinary fact, although you may be reading it here first. Most in the mainstream media would rather tout the faults of American...

WASHINGTON -- When President Bush signed legislation Wednesday to extend lower tax rates for capital gains and dividend income through 2010, he suggested that his tax cuts are behind a surge of new revenue into the Treasury, and he implied that it's enough to offset the revenue lost by these reductions. At a ceremony on the White House lawn, Bush said his tax cuts had helped the economy grow, "which means more tax revenue for the federal Treasury." That's just not true. A host of studies, some written by economists who served in the Bush administration, concluded that tax cuts...

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. It's nice to see so many members of Congress at this end of Pennsylvania Avenue. (Laughter.) And you've come for a really good reason. This is a good day for American workers and families and businesses. You have passed a bill that will keep our taxes low and keep our economy growing. And I'm really pleased to be able to sign this vital piece of legislation. Thank you for your leadership. (Applause.) I'm glad you're here, and so is the Vice President. I'm proud...

President Bush signed a $70 billion tax-cut package, and honored the 2006 United States Winter Olympic and Paralympics Teams, both events being held on the South Lawn at the White House. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Some details here; note bias in article title. There are some late photos from last evening's dinner that the president and first lady hosted for Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, and his wife, Janette. Tony Snow's press briefing today (transcript and video). Welcome to Sanity Island!

THINGS that seem temporary can have a sneaky way of becoming permanent. Anyone who's ever bought a home knows how it works. At first there are dozens of fixes you plan to make — that dreadful carpet, those dingy tiles in the bathroom, maybe even a silly door knob. Ten years later, you find yourself still staring at them

It's past time for President Bush to make a strong push to extend his income tax rate reductions before they expire in a few short years. The tax cuts have been instrumental in stimulating economic growth, and their extension is absolutely essential to meet the onerous challenges we'll be facing, including the ongoing war on terror and rising fuel prices. The president's newly appointed chief of staff, Josh Bolten, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," made encouraging statements about the president's plan to reenergize his domestic agenda, including extending the tax cuts. But Democrats have a vested interest in blocking the...

If ever there was a market test of economic policy, the last three years have been it. The stock market has recovered from its implosion in Bill Clinton's last year in office, unemployment is down to 4.7%, and growth has averaged 3.9% in the three years since those tax cuts passed--well above the post-World War II average and more than twice the growth rate in Euroland. Yes, gas prices are high and interest rates are rising, which helps to explain the anxiety felt by some of the public. But these headwinds are all the more reason to be impressed by...

WASHINGTON — A bill awarding tax relief to investors and 15 million taxpayers facing the alternative minimum tax passed the House on Wednesday, giving President Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill a long-sought election year victory. The bill, providing tax cuts worth $70 billion over five years, passed on a 244-185 vote. The Senate was expected to clear the bill for Bush's signature today. The legislation provides a two-year extension of the reduced 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends, currently set to expire at the end of 2008. It also would extend, for this year,...

The U.S. Senate on Thursday began debating a $70 billion tax cut package that extends lower rates for investors and whose passage would give President George W. Bush a badly needed victory at a time of slumping popularity. The vote later on Thursday was expected to be close in the narrowly divided Senate where some moderate Republicans have expressed concerns about the bill. But Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said it would pass. The bill, the result of months of negotiations between the two chambers, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. Bush,...

For Immediate ReleaseMay 11, 2006 Setting the Record Straight: President Bush's Tax Relief Benefits All Taxpayers       Setting the Record Straight Washington Post Editorial Headline: "The Formula Hasn't Changed: A Windfall For The Rich, And A Hole In The Federal Budget." "Budgetary dishonesty, distributional unfairness, fiscal irresponsibility - by now the words are so familiar, it can be hard to appreciate how damaging this fiscal course will be. ... This Congress and administration are putting the nation deeper and deeper in debt to benefit a sliver of the population that doesn't need the help." (Editorial, "Tax Cuts, Again; The Formula...

Reuters Senate passes $70 billion tax cut 7 minutes ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday passed a $70 billion tax cut that extends low rates for investors and provides temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax for millions of taxpayers. The Senate voted for the bill that will extend through 2010 a 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends. Those rates were the centerpiece of President George W. Bush's 2003 economic package and were set to expire at the end of 2008. The House of Representatives passed the same bill on Wednesday and it now goes...

A flood of income tax payments pushed up government receipts to the second-highest level in history in April, giving the country a sizable surplus for the month.

House and Senate GOP conferees finally agreed yesterday on extending the 15% tax rate on dividends and capital gains for two more years through 2010. This means you can expect lots of media and liberal rhetoric about "the deficit" and "the rich," but the real news is how well these lower rates have been soaking the rich to fill government coffers. The latest evidence is Treasury's monthly budget report for May that tax receipts were up by $137 billion, or a remarkable 11.2%, for the first seven months of Fiscal 2006 through April. That's more than triple the inflation rate....

WASHINGTON - Republicans in Congress reached agreement Tuesday on a five-year, $70 billion measure to extend tax breaks for investors and prevent more middle-income families from being hit by a tax aimed at the wealthy. The bill would hand President Bush one of his top tax priorities, a two-year extension of the reduced 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends, currently set to expire at the end of 2008. Republicans credit the tax cuts, enacted in 2003, with boosting economic growth and creating many jobs. Over five years, the bill would cost $70 billion, but over a decade,...

With the House and Senate preparing to vote on extending George W. Bush's investment tax cuts, it's no surprise the cries against "tax giveaways to the rich" grow increasingly shrill. Just yesterday Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid charged that the Bush tax plan "offers next to nothing to average Americans while giving away the store to multi-millionaires"... Oh really. New IRS data released last month tell a very different story: In the aftermath of the Bush investment tax cuts, the federal income tax burden has substantially shifted onto the backs of the wealthy. Between 2002 and 2004, tax payments by...

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday appealed for quick passage of $70 billion in tax cuts, saying lower taxes on dividends and profits from investment selloffs have helped revive the economy. In addition to extending those cuts by two years, the proposal would keep 15 million taxpayers from getting hit this year with a tax aimed at the wealthy. The president said raising taxes would harm the economy, especially at a time of rising gasoline prices. "A tax increase wold be disastrous for business, disastrous for families and disastrous for this economy," Bush told a Washington audience.

Reid: The Bush Tax Plan Leaves the Middle Class Behind 5/3/2006 2:44:00 PM To: National Desk Contact: Jim Manley or Rebecca Kirszner, 202-224-2939, both of the Office of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid WASHINGTON, May 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid today issued the following statement on President Bush's tax plan to put multi-millionaires ahead of middle-class families. A fact check on President Bush's tax plan follows below. "Earlier this week, Republicans offered a pittance of a rebate to gas consumers and the American people saw the plan as the gimmick it was. The Bush Republican tax...