Conservative senators may not move on..

[Cougar Mag]

From MSNBC News: extending the tax cuts Bush has proposed for this year, in fact 6 Republican senators have asked Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles, R-Okla., to produce a fiscal blueprint for balancing the budget in seven years. That would exceed Bush"™s goal of halving shortfalls in five years.

Wary of the impact on deficits, Republican congressional leaders already have said they will not move this year on Bush"™s proposal to extend the tax cuts, which is the pillar of his plan for strengthening the economy.

President Bush"™s budget would produce deficits totaling $2.75 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected Friday in the first authoritative look at the plan"™s longer-range implications. The forecast "” $737 billion worse than the budget office expects should Congress ignore Bush"™s tax and spending plans "” is sure to factor into this year"™s presidential and congressional campaigns.

The preliminary analysis by the non-partisan budget office shows that Bush's fiscal plans would have little impact on the deficit forecast through fiscal 2010. But after that deficits would deepen severely under the new forecast, compared with the "baseline" projected before the latest budget proposal.

So now what?

[Briman]

Raising taxes to balance a budget might sound good on paper, but in the end its nothing more than a long term game of chasing one's tail where everyone gets pinched.

Think about it- if you tax everyone an extra $1000 per year, that's $1000 of discretionary spending gone per person. The person doesn't have the money to spend, the person puts off buying a new car, refridgerator, or house another year. Downstream, the people who make refridgerators, cars, houses, not to mention the materials to make these items along with those who transport these goods at all stages of production have less work to do. These people end up taking pay cuts or lose jobs- less money that can be taxed, and more people are being a burden on social safety net of the country.

John F. Kennedy knew this and cut taxes. Unfortunately there hasn't been a Democrat since that has had the same level of wisdom.

[James B]

Briman. That was a three point shot. Nothing but net!!!

[loner]

not to mention, that the extra $1000/person will go into the hopper to be squandered away like it currently is! until there is a control of spending money where it should not be spent ,we have no chance of anything getting any better.

[Cougar Mag]

As far as I know, nothing has been said about raising taxes. The report states only that the tax cut proposals by President Bush is dead.

[boltman]

If the tax cuts aren't extended then the result is you're raising taxes. Taxes are at a certain level this year, if they're higher next year then that's a tax hike. Simple math, eh?

If you don't care about the economy then sure, raise taxes. Billy bob clinton did it and it gave us a recession that Bush had to pull us out of. How often does it have to be proven? Tax hikes slow the economy, tax cuts stimulate it.

[James B]

Kerry has said outright that he will rasie taxes. Some of the tax cuts will be made permanet. Time will tell how many