During the 1990s, under the guidance of the Clinton administration, the government put an end to budget deficits, and America enjoyed a period of growth led by the private sector where prosperity was widely shared and job creation was robust. Over the next decade, under the Bush administration, Washington tried a new path, running up huge debts, while incomes for most Americans stagnated and overseas outsourcing of our jobs escalated. We are living today with the damage that misguided policy caused.
While campaigning for the office of president, Bush said that the U.S. needed to cut taxes to sustain the prosperity. He did just that and at the same time started a very expensive war and we ended up with a $10.7 trillion public debt. Those tax cuts will expire later this year. The Obama administration wants to extend cuts that apply to families making less than $250,000 a year, while allowing the cuts to expire for the Americans with taxable incomes over $250,000 a year. Republicans are pushing to have all the tax cuts extended, insisting that doing otherwise could further stunt economic growth.
According to Treasury Secretary Geithner, “Borrowing to finance tax cuts for the top two percent would be a $700 billion fiscal mistake.” Common sense tells me that he is right.
Republicans keep saying that keeping the tax cuts will spur investment. That’s exactly what they said when they pushed the tax cuts through eight years ago. How well did that work for us then?
Jo Davis
Shawnee
