The "Evil" Bush Tax Cuts

I'm sure you've heard about the much decried 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts as a tax cut for the "rich". It sounds good coming out of the mouths of Democrats whose economic agenda lately seems to be to instigate class envy and warfare but, the truth of the matter is that they were across-the-board tax reductions. They affected every single American taxpayer no matter their income.

So when Democrats say they were tax cuts for the rich, they're right in a sense but you have to take into account that they're leaving out the crucial fact that Bush reduced the tax rates for the poor and middle classes as well. A lie of omission is a lie just the same.

Granted, these tax cuts added to the deficit because domestic spending wasn't cut as well (as it should have been) but they were necessary at the time and actually increased the tax base according to an article in the New York Sun. The Sun's source was a study by the vice president for economic policy at the Tax Foundation, Robert Carroll, and economists Gerald Auten and Geoffrey Gee of the Department of the Treasury so it's pretty reliable.

That's right, the tax cuts actually increased the amount of taxable income generated by American taxpayers. While the tax cuts didn't completely pay for themselves, they offset as much as 40% of the revenues lost from the tax rate reduction.

Now that these tax cuts are due to expire, Congressional Democrats are screaming about Bush's "tax cuts for the rich" and, in allowing them to expire, they will end up with a decreased revenue stream. This will no doubt do nothing to curb their excessive spending and add to our already massive debt as higher tax rates force money underground and away from the greedy hands of the Government instead of into the economy where it can create jobs at a time we desperately need job creation.

It just goes to show that politicians do not read history. This has all happened before. Don't believe me? Look into the tax rates under Woodrow Wilson and the "Laffer Curve". If you don't want to do that, you can just wait for one of my future blogs which will be on those very subjects.

I thank you for your time and apologize for any typos.