Implications Of George W Bush Essay, Research Paper
Implications of George W. Bush s Tax Cut
By: Erick Everhard
When George W Bush started to talk about a huge across the board tax cut in December 1, 1999 most people thought he was full of hot air. The 1.6 trillion dollar proposal was not very realistic. Sure everybody would appreciate some reprieve from Uncle Sam s relentless pick pocketing of the working man s wages, but at what cost? Money doesn t grow on trees so the question of everybody s mind was, What other programs are going to be shafted in order to finance this brilliant, strategic effort for a republican to clinch the presidential throne? The early figures where inconsistent and it seemed Social Security would suffer the most. It took this author a long time to find research on the web that told both sides of the story, as the media is mostly right-wing biased. But after tedious scrutiny and due diligence I discovered some excellent ideas within Bush s proposal. I also dug up some facts that where both startling and shameful.
One of the key aspects of an across the board tax cut is that it s equal to all parties involved. So a crack-craving busboy in Chicago is as well off as a millionaire Manhattan internet mogul, right? Wrong. If somebody is pulling six figures than surely they can afford to pay more taxes than Victor the valet. I m sure Robin Hood would agree that targeted tax cuts are in order. But Bush doesn t seem to think so. He came up with this across the board cut for all the wrong reasons. He is a people pleaser who wanted to appeal to everybody, hence equal treatment for all. In reality he knows that the rich may be few but are a lot more influential than others. At the same time he strings the common man along with comments like, The people of America have been overcharged and on their behalf I am here asking for a refund. 1 Sadly, the fact that his program will mostly benefit the rich that pay 80% of the taxes in the US, is the weakest link in his scheme.
Another point Bush likes to address is how he will be putting more money in people s pockets. If you believe that one, let me tell you the one about the three bears. What Bush conveniently left out is where the money is going to come from to finance these tax cuts. The truth is enough to make you cringe. Bush has got his vacuum cleaner warmed up and ready to suck money out of other legitimate program ranging from education cutbacks to killing off endangered species in Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Reserve so that he can line the federal government s pockets with his ill-gotten gains. Bush s apathy toward Mother Nature has been evident ever since he was governor and allowed Texas to rank as the most polluted of all 50 states in the union. He probably thought all the black smoke would keep the Mexicans from hopping the border. Another item on his hidden agenda is to cut over 2 billion dollars from the Transportation Department. The lack of public transportation will force people to drive cars instead of taking the bus which will in turn increase air pollution and add to the traffic congestion. These extra cars will burn more fuel and put an even greater strain on Earth s natural resources.
But when Allan Greenspan gave 2 belated thumbs up to the proposal it really opened a lot of people s minds. Greenspan is a man I have grown to trust and respect. But Greenspan is not infallible and we also need to consider that nobody is immune to Bush s powerful influence.
George Jr also said that this cut would boost the economy and stock market. I am curious as to how he arrived at this conclusion being that no tax cut in recent history has been solely responsible for kick starting the economy. As a matter of fact Ronald Regan s 1981 tax cut was not very effective at all. A few days later he was shot by an assassin. And we all know President Kennedy s tax cut was also inevitably followed by a lethal gunshot. If history is any indicator than George W better invest in some Kevlar body armor and a couple of extra secret service agents.
The only department immune from these random budget cuts is probably the department of defense. He is so insecure about his authority being usurped that he squanders trillions of dollars on national defense, then turns around and fires missiles at Iraq in a vain attempt to justify the Pentagon s over-inflated budget.
And what about Social Security? Surely the adverse effects of this tax cut will come back to haunt us worse than a dismembered corpse buried upside down in Amityville. The numbers Bush proposes just don t add up. And we can t blindly hope the economy stays in an upturn. Bush wants to spend the money before he s made it. He is quite near-sighted and does not consider the repercussions of how this will affect tomorrow s youth. Its not fair for our children and grandchildren to inherit a toxic, polluted Earth; Raped of all its natural resources from Bush s lax environmental policies. Nor is it fair to make them support our elderly today and when they grow old to tell them, Sorry, the money s all used up! It s a very inconsiderate attitude.
To learn what the majority thinks of all this there was a poll conducted by DLC Blueprint. Here is a summary:
To most voters, the top priorities for the budget surplus are paying down the debt, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and investing in education, training, and technology. Tax cuts fall behind all of these.
+ Most Americans believe we have a budget surplus, but think the surplus will not be as large as it is estimated.
+ While the Bush tax cut plan draws support, it is vulnerable to the charge that it benefits the haves over the have-nots, especially when it comes to eliminating the estate tax.
+ A different approach to tax cutting has substantial appeal over the Bush approach.
o A majority of Americans would prefer to reduce the estate tax, not eliminate it — so that it applies only to the wealthy.
o Voters want to take a more fiscally-responsible approach to tax cutting; over two-thirds support a trigger that stops the cut if the projected surpluses don’t occur, and three-fourths think we should pass part of the cut now, and part later.
o A majority prefers payroll tax cuts to across-the-board tax cuts. 2
Bush JR makes some brilliant promises but then again so did his father when he said, Read my lips ..no new taxes! then proceeded to lie through his teeth. Every other word out of George W s mouth is fair but when it comes down to it, his proposal is extremely UNfair to many of the most vulnerable groups of people. Only by opening up the lines of communication and respecting each other s needs and concerns can we reach a happy medium that includes targeted tax cuts and trigger fail safe mechanisms in case all this forecasting of good times to come doesn t pan out. Also these politicians need to remember that humans do not own the Earth, we are just occupants and we must respect this planet and all the animals who dwell here while leaving it just the way we found it for future generations to enjoy!
Works Cited:
US News Website (2000-2001)+
www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/010219/taxes.htm
www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/010312/bush.htm
www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/010305/nycu/taxcut.htm
www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/010305/taxes.htm
Chicago Tribune Website (2000)
chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0%2C2669%2CSAV-0008240333%2CFF.html
NDOL.Org (2001)X
www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=3025&subid=162&kaid=125
www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=125&subid=162&contentid=3121
CNN Website (2001)
europe.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/02/01/lottclinton.cnn/
www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/23/congress.budget.02/
www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/16/bush.budget/index.html
www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/14/congress.taxes.02/index.html
Citizens for Tax Justice (2001)
www.ctj.org/html/bush02pr.htm