Voters know that a tax that can be lowered will probably be raised again and so in long term financial planning, they don't count on tax cuts and when they get them they usually use it to purchase consumable goods (as opposed to saving and investing), in point of fact our whole economy is run on consumerism, which is somewhat dangerous. If we had structural tax reform, a la a flat tax of 17% to 20% it would be virtually impossible to raise the rate and more people could factor taxes into their long term financial planning, investments and savings would increase.
This would also lock in federal government spending, because Congress and the President would have to deal with this political fact and would be forced to lower rates of growth in this spending.
What we need in the Exec. is a tricky comb of hard core deficiet hawk/ supply sider.....with Bush we have a neo-Keynsian.
Weak dollar, spending like a drunk sailor at port= recipe for disaster and this is something we have to come to terms with if Bush wins re-election.
I think Rove is a horrible, horrible influence here.
Excellently put; a too-clever amateur(Rove) that is way over his head. Not wanting to take any flack for cutting spending while a "war" is ongoing, his advice now has us dealing with the reality of a weak dollar and a budget way whacked out of balance. Re-election.. then what? Yecch.