White House: "This President is not someone to rest on his laurels"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Press Briefing by Director, National Economic Council, AL Hubbard, and Chairman, Council of Economic Advisors, Ben Bernanke
Crawford, Texas

2:20 P.M. CDT

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Hi, everybody. I'm Al Hubbard. I'm the Director of the National Economic Council and Economic Advisor to the President. Delighted to be here; wanted to report on what we did this morning.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050809-7.html

As you know, the President, when he was elected back in 2001, inherited a very difficult economy. He inherited a recession. The stock market dropped dramatically. There were corporate scandals, and then the unfortunate 9/11 event, which led to the war on terrorism. He responded very quickly with respect to the economy and focused on helping -- to giving individuals more responsibility and more opportunity to control their own future. And he knew that was the way to ensure economic growth.

As you'll recall, he passed the '01 tax cut, and then the '03 tax cuts, which left people with more of their own money, their own hard-earned money, knowing that the American people knew better than government how to invest that money, how to spend that money, how to start new businesses, and to support the entrepreneurial spirit, which the President very much believes in and believes is so important to the American economy.

He also supported the No Child Left Behind bill, which was so important to providing every American the opportunity for an excellent education, because it's education which leads to higher learning and a stronger economy. And the President very much believes every American should have an opportunity to have an outstanding education.

He then supported the Sarbanes-Oxley bill to make sure that investors could trust the financial reports of the companies they own, as well as the companies they were thinking about acquiring and -- or buying stock in. And finally, he supported the Medicare and health care reform bills to provide drug benefits to retired Americans, as well as to initiate health care reform, which would give people more control of their health care dollars.

The result has been really a spectacular economic growth, which Ben Bernanke is going to give you more details about in a couple of minutes. But we also -- this President is not someone to rest on his laurels. He is committed to a very strong second term agenda. And we talked about many of these agenda items this morning. I think you know most of the agenda items. First, again, it's a focus on giving individuals more control of their lives and more control of their own resources.

Right at the top of the list is Social Security and pension reform so people can count on their retirement. Secondly is tax reform, so people can once again fill out their own tax returns and know that every taxpayer is being treated fairly. Third, he's going to continue to focus on education and job training to make sure Americans are trained for the jobs of the 21st century.

Q When do you expect the Tax Reform Commission to report, sometime in September?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: The Tax Reform Commission is scheduled to report on September 30th to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Q Do you expect that the administration then will pursue their recommendations with Congress yet this fall, or is that something that waits a year or two?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Well, we go through the normal process. The report is made to the Secretary of the Treasury, at which time he will study their report, and then he will make recommendations to the White House. And then it will go through the normal White House process, which is the National Economic Council, of which I am the Director. And we will work through that process this fall. So, in terms of the timetable, that depends on so many different things that I really can't talk about a specific timetable.

But I can tell you this: It's something the President is totally committed to. He thinks the current tax system is very unfair, that it's -- it's very unfair to make the people -- make the American people participate in a system that no one can understand, and it's so complicated no one can fill out his or her own tax return. And it's got to be simplified, it's got to be made more transparent. And it's got to be made where the average person can fill out his own -- his or her own tax return.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Laurels?

Hardy har har!

[K8-EEE]

3. WHAT Laurels!

Wouldn't he have to have some laurels to rest on?

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. His only Laurels are Turdblossums

*sniff* ewwwwww!!!!

[opihimoimoi]

8. This RW Crapolla is down right SICKENING....The Bush is a FRAUD

He ain't no hero

He dresses up in cowboy but hates Horses and hard work...

He doesn't READ

He really knows shit

Cannot remember his fraudulent lies.

Scared of Goldstar Moms.

The Pubs really did us a fuckup when they chose this MF

[Mz Pip]

2. Rest on his laurels

No, he likes to rest in the shrubs on his pig farm.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[shoelace414]

4. Tax brackets are easy

it's THE DEDUCTIONS THAT MAKE IT COMPLEX

[BikeWriter]

6. What fuck'n laurels? This pResident doesn't admit his failures!

[Marnieworld]

7. What color is the sky in their world?

I swear there were so many lies in the first few paragraphs that I couldn't finish. Nowhere does the words Budget deficit from surplus appear. Tax cuts that have done nothing but bankrupt the treasury and make a relative handful of people richer who were already rich. Then they tout No child left behind? An unfunded mandate that many states, after experiencing many problems from it are rejecting. And the economy is now experiencing "spectactular" growth? Give me a break!

[kedrys]

9. Laurels? They're the BONES of everyone you've killed, f*cktard!!!!!

I'm going to go hurl now. Yegads I can't stand that sniveling little shit. :mad: :grr:

[texanwitch]

10. Giving big tax deductions for your mega rich friends, now thats a

laurel.:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[Vickers]

11. Oh shit...does this mean they're planning another 9/11-esque "event" ?

:shrug:

[SillyGoose]

12. This pisses me off....blame Clinton again.

"As you know, the President, when he was elected back in 2001, inherited a very difficult economy. He inherited a recession."

There they go blaming Clinton again for their own fiscal mismanagement. Our economy is heading down the toilet thanks to these buffoons.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

"...federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2000 amounted to at least $230 billion, making it the largest in U.S. history and topping last year's record surplus of $122.7 billion.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/27/clinton.surplus/

"My colleagues and I have been very appreciative of your support of the Fed over the years, and your commitment to fiscal discipline has been instrumental in achieving what in a few weeks will be the longest economic expansion in the nation’s history."
— Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board Chairman, January 4, 2000, with President Clinton at Chairman Greenspan’s re-nomination announcement

http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-03.html