BUSH'S ECONOMIC OPTIMISM BELIED BY DEFICITS, UNEMPLOYED
Visiting New Hampshire yesterday, President Bush argued on behalf of making
his tax cuts permanent, saying, "government has got plenty of money." But
in Washington, the White House announced that the Medicare law signed six
weeks ago would cost 35% more than indicated. White House officials have
maintained the $134 billion increased estimate was "understandable and
relatively close."
The president also said yesterday that the government needs "needs to stay
focused and principled." But the administration's budget, to be unveiled
next week, is expected to produce a $520 billion deficit, about $150 billion
more than the deficit for 2003.
President Bush hasn't yet articulated how he'll successfully "cut the
deficit in half over the next five years," other than being "wise with the
people's money," as announced in his State of the Union. The White House
has already announced an increase in spending for homeland security by 9.7%,
a 7% increase for defense spending, and is stumping hard to make his tax
cuts permanent, an additional cost of $2 trillion over ten years, according
to the non-partisan Brookings Institution.
The president spent much time yesterday claiming his tax cuts were
successful and fair, "as opposed to trying to pick or choose winners in the
political debate." All analyses, however, show that the top 1% received
almost half of the president's tax cuts, even though that group pays only 21
percent of federal taxes.
The Washington Post characterized Bush's speech as an "economic pep talk,"
in which the president lauded his tax cuts and an improving economy.
Bush said his tax cuts were "working. People are finding work." However,
the Post also reported on the facing page of Bush's speech, that a record
number of jobless workers, 375,000, will exhaust their unemployment
benefits tomorrow, the highest number ever recorded for a single month.
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