Bush's economic adviser supported 50 cent gas tax

[Cocoa]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040331-9999-news_1n31kerry.html

<snip>

The Kerry campaign responded by distributing a 1999 Fortune magazine article by Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, who had advocated a 50-cent-per-gallon tax to make up for revenues lost to income-tax cuts.

Mankiw, a Harvard economist at the time, wrote that a gas tax would encourage car-pooling and public transportation use, reduce the size of vehicles, and reduce air pollution and global warming. An unidentified administration official told The New York Times that the current economic reality is different, and that Mankiw does not support a gas tax.

[BOSSHOG]

1. Can't Mankiw speak for himself

and since he is a republican, preferably under oath.

[Catfight]

2. Does Bush still support the 100k Tax Break on Hummers?

Has Bush decided that his 100k tax break for Hummer owners and large SUV's are still necessary, considering the high demand for oil? Hum...50 cents vs. 100k? Wow...Kerry, get out there and tell the truth about this hypocritical administration!

[jean]

3. The admin might have muzzled Mankiw

after his comments about outsourcing being good for the economy.

[Gulf Coast J]

4. This needs to be all over the place

The article: http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/mankiw/columns/may99.html


Many members of Congress have been pushing for a cut in income taxes, but they've been unsure how to pay for it. Fortunately, I've figured out an answer: with a tax increase. Let's cut income taxes by 10% and finance it with a 50-cent-per-gallon hike in the gasoline tax.

Yes, I know, this may sound like one of those pantywaist ideas only a pointy-headed Cambridge academic can love. But hear me out: By marrying the tax-cutting logic of the Republican right with the environmental concerns of the Democratic left, this might be a package that works for both.