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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ManyMoose who wrote (345275)	1/20/2003 5:44:34 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Half of Americans say income taxes are about right By Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — For the first time in 40 years, most Americans do not think their federal income tax is too high, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll this month. The poll suggests that President Bush might not be able to count on resentment of taxes to help pass his economic stimulus plan, which relies largely on tax cuts. Half of those surveyed said the federal tax they pay is about right. That's a remarkable turnaround from two years ago, shortly after Bush took office, when two in three said it was too high. Bush has proposed a 10-year, $674 billion plan to stimulate the economy. Most of the cost to the government is from tax cuts. The most controversial proposal is elimination of the income tax on stock dividends, which critics say benefits mainly the rich. "The Bush policy of tax cuts for any and every purpose is losing some of its appeal," says Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. "If people are not clamoring for tax cuts, Congress is unlikely to give them." But John Berthoud of the National Taxpayers Union, a private group that advocates tax cuts, says, "Voters in several states defeated tax-hike measures last fall, and I have full confidence the American public will be there on further tax cuts in Washington." Ironically, the tax cuts Bush pushed and saw enacted in 2001 and his press for a showdown with Iraq could be working against him now. The last time less than a majority said their taxes were too high was in 1962, after President Kennedy won a tax cut. Polls show that Americans are less likely to think they are being taxed too much shortly after they get a big tax cut. The 2001 tax cuts, which totaled $1.35 trillion over 10 years, were the largest in 22 years. Also, analysts say, the threat of war makes many Americans more supportive of the federal budget to support the military. At the same time, the economy is still weak, and people are concerned about adequately funding domestic needs such as education and health care. So calls for more tax cuts disproportionately benefiting those in upper-income brackets become a tough sell. More than one in three of those polled said taxes on the wealthy are too low. "We are a nation at war. But we are also a nation with people who are undereducated and underprivileged. So as responsible citizens we have to be willing to help," says Tom Harrington, 69, a retired civil engineer in Belle Chase, La. In the poll, the number of Americans earning $20,000 to $30,000 who said their taxes were about right jumped from 37% in 1991 to 66% now. The tax rate on lower-income earners was cut from 15% to 10% in 2001, causing more to pay no federal income tax.

To: ManyMoose who wrote (345275)	1/20/2003 5:59:30 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

You just don't like the result of the will of the ballot box LOL! So, your solution is, "trust the gov't as we have it now, and like it, because the ballot-box has been counted" That's not mine solution, nor the Founders. If one "smells a rat", it's time to protest and make your issues known. Do you think that will change you mind, or anyone else who has their mind made up? If not, what's the danger? OTOH, the danger in suppressing political expression is great and well-known.