I must apologize for an error I made in this post:
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Message 14951474
To: Thurston Howell who wrote (102419)
From: Ellen
Tuesday, Dec 5, 2000 4:46 PM ET
Reply # of 102479
> Today at Ford a person tried to tell me that the VP-elect (notice how we don't need to use a name there anymore? and it is nice) was on "Meet the Press" yesterday (ok I corrected him on this little mistake as we all know it is on Sunday) and he said they have already scrapped the tax cut for everyone except the top 1%. I asked why on earth would the VP-elect make such a statement and I was informed that he said because, "that is the way to stimulate the economy and those were the people to do it with". <
So already Bush is reneging on focus issues from his campaign.
And the ill-conceived trickle down economics - which George, Sr. called "voodoo economics" at one time - begins. Again.
What a snow job Dubya's campaign was...
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I took that post and those words as stated to be correct.
Here are the actual portions of the transcript of that program that address the issue:
msnbc.com
MR. RUSSERT: Governor Bush and you campaigned on a platform of a $1.3 trillion
tax cut. Now, that the Senate is 50/50 Democrats/Republicans and the Republicans control the
House by eight or nine votes, won’t you have to scale down your tax cut in order to pass it?
MR. CHENEY: I would think clearly you have to work very hard with a 50/50 Senate.
I could end up living on Capitol Hill as the vice president...
MR. RUSSERT: Casting the tie-breaking vote.
MR. CHENEY: ...tie-breaking vote as president in the Senate. But circumstances
have changed, too. There’s growing evidence out there, Tim, that the economy is slowing down. We’re
seeing it in automobile sales and a lot of other areas, earnings falling off for corporations, and
we may well be on the front edge of a recession here. And I would hope that would change people’s
calculations with respect to the wisdom of the kind of tax cuts that Governor Bush has recommended.
But we do, in fact, need to take into account those economic circumstances.
MR. RUSSERT: Do you think we’re on the front edge of a recession?
MR. CHENEY: I think so. Now, I’m not an economist. I just am following it enough to
know and to see out there that there is growing evidence that the economy is slowing down
and I would think the kinds of tax changes we recommended and Governor Bush recommended, especially
in terms of reducing marginal rates, for example, are, in fact, exactly what needs to be done with respect to
providing the kind of stimulus to ensure the resumption of long-term economic growth.
...
MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Cheney said he thinks a recession’s coming on and all the more
reason for a big tax cut. One, do you think we’re near a recession? And two, will a $1.3 trillion Bush
tax cut pass the Congress if Bush is the president?
REP. GEPHARDT: Well, I don’t think we are in a recession. I hope we’re not. I don’t
think we are. I think things have slowed down a little. I think they needed to slow down a little. I
think we’ve gotten a little too far too fast, but the productivity figures are still good, the growth figures
are still reasonable, in the 2 percent-plus range. I do think we need a tax cut. We fought over that in the
last two years. I think whoever is president, we’re going to have a tax cut. I hope it’s not a huge one
that I think would overdo it and get back to overheating the economy. But I think we definitely need a
tax cut for middle- income Americans and people that have really had the worst time, even in this
recovery.
MR. RUSSERT: How much? $1.3 trillion?
REP. GEPHARDT: Well, we see it more in the area of $200 million to $500 million, but
we’re going to have to compromise.
MR. RUSSERT: A billion dollars.
REP. GEPHARDT: A billion dollars, and we’re going to have to compromise and
come to something that’ll work. But I’m confident that we can do that and make sense and do the right
thing for the economy and the people. |
