Democrats wrong on taxes
November 2, 2003
The Bush administration's prophecy that its tax cuts would produce an economic recovery is coming true. In a front-page story last Monday about the fastest pace of economic growth in four years, The New York Times made this rare admission: "Most of that growth stemmed from a sharp rise in consumer spending, driven largely by a continuing boom in mortgage refinancing and checks that were mailed out as part of the recent tax cut."
Low interest rates and tax cuts are the twin strategies of the Bush administration for restoring the economy following the post-9/11 recession. They appear to be working. Yet the Democratic presidential candidates are sticking to their tired themes of class warfare and economic stupidity as they clamor for eliminating the tax cuts and raising taxes again on "the rich."
In a Wall Street Journal essay Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman argued for his "tax reform" proposal, which is a convoluted revision of the already undecipherable tax code. Lieberman would raise rates for "the wealthiest" and lower them for the "middle class." Since "the rich" already pay the largest percentage of taxes, Lieberman's plan simply fuels the liberal notion that success deserves to be penalized and failure subsidized.
Under his plan, the top tax rate would increase 5 percentage points to 43.6 percent, which would send many wealthy people back to their tax shelters.
Tax cuts are not only a winning political issue, they are a winning economic issue -- but only if Republicans can again demonstrate thrift and personal responsibility instead of behaving like Democrat-lite.
Retirees, many of whom live mostly on dividends from investment income, are noticing the first uptick in those dividends in three years. Their dividend checks are likely to persuade many of them that President Bush deserves a second term. The reduction in the capital gains tax is bringing many groundhogs out of their investment holes.
Democrats are wrong about taxes, but Republicans are wrong about spending. If Republicans can control themselves, their position as the majority party will be secure (and so will the economy) for years to come.
indystar.com |
