"Back when the cuts were making news, I recall there were a few notable conservative writers making the point that the cuts were small. A quick search turned up these: "
Rubbish.
I can come up with even more solidly conservative , and better economists who think the Bush tax cuts were as solid as they come and have made a major difference to the growth of the Us economy.
Just on the reduction of the Divined tax alone, we had
this from the NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS :
"One of America’s largest publicly owned corporations recently announced the biggest stock dividend payment in history: some $37 billion. Tens of thousands of workers and retirees will benefit from Microsoft’s decision to distribute some of its profits to shareholders, as well as millions of 401(k) participants whose mutual funds invest in high-tech stocks. In the past year, other companies have paid dividends for the first time, including Target, Bank of America and Proctor & Gamble. Previously, these companies reinvested profits themselves, and shareholders only realized a gain when they sold their stocks.
These announcements occurred because the Job Growth and Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 cut the maximum individual income tax rate that stockholders pay on dividends to 15 percent
The new rates have made a difference since becoming law in May 2003.
The tax cut not only reduced the burden on individuals, it also reduced the cost of capital to corporations. The economic benefits of the lower dividend tax rates will increase over time, and they will be even greater if Congress makes the rate cuts permanent — and greater still, if the taxation of dividends is completely eliminated."
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba483/
"....the Bush administration’s lower tax rates on dividends have encouraged companies to raise money by selling more shares rather than by borrowing. According to the American Shareholders Association, in the first 12 months of lower rates (May 2003 to May 2004): There were 298 announcements of initial or increased dividend payments by firms in Standard & Poor’s index of 500 largest corporations, compared with just 192 in the preceding year. Net individual dividend income from Standard & Poor’s 500 firms increased 50 percent in 2003, from $32.7 billion to $49.1 billion, and is projected to total $55.5 billion in 2004. [See the figure.] .................... Over the long run, according to recent estimates from the National Bureau of Economic Research: The level of dividends paid out by corporations will rise 24 percent, amounting to an $86 billion increase from 2002 levels.
The reduction of taxes on future dividends will increase the value of the stock market by $690 billion, a 6 percent increase over the market’s value as of March 2003. There are also long-term effects. The study calculates that it will take three years after the tax change for just one-fourth of the long-run effects on dividend payout s to occur. NBER researchers also suggest that cutting dividend taxes reduces the tax burden on investors who purchase new equity issues in expectation of future dividend payout. "
All these massive effects on the economy from just the cut in divident taxes alone. One must also not forget that President Bush initially proposed the total elimination of Dividend taxes altogether, but Congress amended the bill for a big cut in Dividend taxes instead. Even so, the effects have been awesome!
I repeat, there is nothing "token" about the Bush tax cuts. They were deep, profound and fundamental, and the salutary effects on the Us economy will be felt for a very long time to come.
I didn't say the tax cuts were ineffective. I said and continue to say they're tiny, miniscule, and PUNY, which makes the liberal's rantings all the more laughable.
Now, if we could get our wonderful, "conservative" Republicans to reduce the size of the Federal government, that would be a step in the right direction. Even halting its growth would be a pleasant surprise.