Johnson City Press poll: Should Bush tax cuts for wealthy be extended?

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Should Bush tax cuts for wealthy be extended?
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?ID=80869

Take the Johnson City Press weekly poll (scroll to bottom of the page; right side)
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com

A poll conducted by CNN in August found 69 percent of Americans surveyed want to let the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire at the end of the year. At the same time, a poll found most of this nation’s top economists are in favor of extending the tax cuts.

At least 60 percent of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said lower tax rates on capital gains and dividends should not be allowed to expire. Another 22 percent support a lower rate on capital gains and dividends for middle-income taxpayers, but not for the wealthy.

Extending the tax cuts have become a major issue for Republicans, who hope to regain majority control of Congress in the November elections. GOP candidates argue that continuing the tax cuts — approved in 2001 and 2003 — will help create new jobs and grow the economy.

The nonpartisan website PolitiFact quotes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests claims of job creation created by the Bush tax ring hollow. It found that when President Clinton left office in 2001, his administration had recorded a net gain of 22.7 million new jobs.

Conversely, the BLS data shows President Bush left office in 2009 with a net gain of just 1.08 million jobs.

Critics use such figures to argue that cutting taxes for the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans will do little to create jobs. Opponents of the move also point to figures from the Congressional Budget Office that show the Bush era tax cuts have added $2.3 trillion to the budget deficit over the last 10 years.

The CBO analysts also say extending all the tax cuts would add another $3.9 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade.

Tell us what you think. Should the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy be continued? Send your comments to Mailbag, P.O. Box 1717, Johnson City, TN 37605-1717, or [e-mail]. Please include your name, telephone number and address for verification.

We will print your responses on the Opinion pages in the coming weeks. You also can go to www.johnsoncitypress.com to cast a vote in the online poll. Results of the poll, along with comments from readers, will appear on the Opinion page on Sept. 14.

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