Ace said:
Ignore the guy, Lyman. He's not only unAmerican, he's unCanadian. A mere rabble rouser. I've started a list on all the great things George Bush has done as president:
1. Didn't rush blindly into any unwarranted action on 9-11.
2. Kept the tax cuts
Feel free to add.
I don't hate Bush. I actually voted for him. And I want reasons to like him. So I don't post this in a state of idealogical hatred or blind hysteria...
I'm all for low taxes, as any fiscal conservative is. But tax cuts are incredibly dumb policy when your administration is spending like a drunken sailor, as Bush's has been.
The budget deficit last year totaled $319 billion, the third largest deficit on record. Sadly, that was an improvement from the record $413 billion in red ink in 2004.
The CBO just put out a revised forecast for the Federal deficit for the current fiscal year, which shows that despite the fact that the deficit spending continues to reduce, we are still going to be $260 billion in the hole for the year. With the way we are spending, the CBO estimates s $1.76 trillion deficit over the next decade, and a deficit twice that if Congress makes the Bush tax cuts permanent, as the administration would like.
Tax cuts in a vacuum sound like a great thing. But running deficits that large bodes badly for our economy. I actually believe in supply-side economics, but there are diminishing returns from repeated tax cuts. We are probably past the point at which lower taxes are spurring any significant investment. Whether you agree with that or not, it's clear that we are spending way too much and not bringing enough in. If we are going to spend a ton on wars, fighting terrorism, providing natural disaster relief and funding entitlement programs, I'd rather do the fiscally responsible thing and actually pay for them. So I don't agree with the second point on your list.
