I know, quite a shift in political mood from a decade ago when Clinton and the Dems passed one of the largest tax increases in history and tried to pass that billion dollar boondogle 'stimulus' plan.
It makes me wonder, though, what is in that 'aid package' for the states. How much $$$ for Homeland Defense will be spent on people guarding coral reefs and other 'vital' national resources. Could be just as bad.
As far as the Dem congressman and his stats, her is what the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported:
Paying dividends
Published Jan. 7, 2003 CUTBX
"The centerpiece of President Bush's stimulus package is cutting the tax on stock dividends. An Internal Revenue Service analysis of tax returns filed in 2000 indicates that just 26.4 percent of filers listed dividend income.
"63 percent of such a cut would go to the 29.1 percent of filers with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) above $100,000."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/3575126.htmlThanks for the Star report. To be fair, it sounds like the Dem congressman was correct...It's about 26% of taxpayers who would benefit from such a dividend tax cut. Maybe 80% own stocks, but not that many people receive dividend income. But, still...I'm all in favor of tax cuts for the rich! They are the ones who actually stimulate the economy, what with their investments, or plowing back money into their own businesses. Give tax cuts to middle-income ($50k or less) alone, and all they'll do is go out and buy new wide-screen TVs with the savings. Good for the TV industry, but not necessarily for the general economy.