Are GW's Tax Cuts more important than Deficit ?

[stealthycat]

Per John Kerry's web site .....

We will fight to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so that we can invest in education and health care. We will also protect middle class tax cuts, such as the child credit and the elimination of the marriage penalty and propose additional tax credits to help middle class families make ends meet.

We will put forward a budget to restore fiscal sanity, eliminate corporate welfare, and cut the deficit in half in four years. However, we will keep our compact to seniors by securing Medicare and Social Security and protecting our children and veterans.

Me ? I like the tax cuts. If Kerry repeals them, it'll affect me and my family. I think big govt spending is a way of tings that will enver change regardless who takes office. GW GAVE me something, he gave me back some of the money that the govt was taking. Did that increase the debt ? Indirectly, yes. Take away the Iraq war and those numbers would be greatly different. Take away the Mars missions and the Space Shuttle disaster, and the deficit would be smaller. Take away the economic slump and the impact that had on incoming taxes ... that would reduce the deficit numbers.

What do ya'll think ?

[CalHunter]

This appears clearer if you look at things from a personal perspective. If your family is in a fionacial crunch, you naturally cut back your spending. The next thing you do is to figure out if it is possible to increase your income and thus "earn" your way out of at least some of the problem. Tax cuts spur increased spending, income by industries and thus increased taxes to the government. Both concepts can and do work. Unfortunately, congress is apparently only willing to enact 1/2 of this strategy.

[fng]

The two are mutually exclusive. The tax cut (despite it being a mere pittance) has NOTHING to do with excess government expenditures.

[Strut&Rut]

The problems with Bush's strategy are the following premises:

1) Extra income will increase jobs. He's right---except as we move away from manufacturing, all of the outsourcing is going to third-world countries, China and India. Jobs are being increased, but not in this country...

2) Tax cuts will increase spending. Nope, just ain't gonna happen until the ecomonic outlook by the idiot forecasters improves. People are gonna take that big check, by & large, and invest in long-term funds or put it in the bank. This strategy is sound, and unfortunately the cuts help American families but do little to spur increased spending and add jobs.

The cuts will never work until something is done to force, and yes literally force, companies to hire within our borders instead of outsourcing globally. Sucks, but that's the bottom line.

I mean as a CEO, why would you hire a kid with a BS degree in telecommunications in the US for $40,000/yr when you can outsource and hire a person with an MS in India, who has much better math & science skills, for $25,000/yr? As a business, you can't and won't...and that and the utter loss of manufacturing is what is killing our economy. Period.

[fng]

I mean as a CEO, why would you hire a kid with a BS degree in telecommunications in the US for $40,000/yr when you can outsource and hire a person with an MS in India, who has much better math & science skills, for $25,000/yr?

Oh, it's much worse than that.

A typical engineer in the U.S. that makes $55,000 a year takes home "roughly" $1500 every two weeks (thats $3000/month). What they are ACTUALLY paid in India to do engineering is $800/MONTH and this does not include health insurance, dental insurance, pension/profit sharing, facility maintenance...

I have a buddy that went over there, these "facilities" are all dirt floor hell holes.

Not to mention, the government's of both countries (india & china) are PAYING for the students to study engineering etc. There are now 1500 engineering schools in China pumping out engineers in the hundreds of thousands per year.

In addition, pick ANYTHING up in your house, it will read "made in china".

We're killing ourselves in this country and all anyone has to say is ..."ahhhh, it will be good for the economy"... Yeah, I especially liked the one "we're not graduating enough technical people... so we have to import workers and export work" -- nonsense.

[Strut&Rut]

fng,

Yeah, but in India the health and dental are government covered, and the cost of the degree is minimal compared to the US---a BS in India will run ~$20,000 for the entire 4 years. We're lucky to get a student through a good school in the US for 20,000/yr. Under $100K/degree is now considered good!

I think it's time government woke up and smelled the crap they've been shovelling...

But for the record, Kerry's ideas will only make things worse, especially if he's dumping the tax credits into SS & "national" health insurance.

PS> I have a few friends who are from India, and the situation is bad over there right now. They are so educated, but so populated, that it's not uncommon to hire a personal driver who has a BS or MS, who makes more driving than their professionally trained field...

[fng]

I think it's time government woke up and smelled the crap they've been shovelling...

But for the record, Kerry's ideas will only make things worse, especially if he's dumping the tax credits into SS & "national" health insurance.

Agreed. Don't think for one second I was backing Kerry, he's a MORON. I could spout that socialist nonsense if my wife was heiress to the Heinz™ fortune which made me worth about 1/2 billion too.

They are so educated, but so populated, that it's not uncommon to hire a personal driver who has a BS or MS, who makes more driving than their professionally trained field...

I don't doubt it for a second. What ads insult to injury in this country is that illegals etc. are flooding up from the bottom while corporate america and the federal government hack at us from the top.

It's simply a lose lose.

[kevin1]

I'd love to see the end of deficit spending , by Constitutional ammendment if possible , with a balanced budget rider . About the only way that could happen though is for us to go back on the gold standard , and that ain't gonna happen .