Krugman: Bush Tax Cuts, Now That's Rich

[flpoljunkie]

Now That’s Rich
By PAUL KRUGMAN

August 22, 2010

How can this kind of giveaway be justified at a time when politicians claim to care about budget deficits? Well, history is repeating itself. The original campaign for the Bush tax cuts relied on deception and dishonesty. In fact, my first suspicions that we were being misled into invading Iraq were based on the resemblance between the campaign for war and the campaign for tax cuts the previous year. And sure enough, that same trademark deception and dishonesty is being deployed on behalf of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

So, for example, we’re told that it’s all about helping small business; but only a tiny fraction of small-business owners would receive any tax break at all. And how many small-business owners do you know making several million a year? (In fact, the percentage of small business owners would be affected would less than 2%--about 1.9%.)

Or we’re told that it’s about helping the economy recover. But it’s hard to think of a less cost-effective way to help the economy than giving money to people who already have plenty, and aren’t likely to spend a windfall.

No, this has nothing to do with sound economic policy. Instead, as I said, it’s about a dysfunctional and corrupt political culture, in which Congress won’t take action to revive the economy, pleads poverty when it comes to protecting the jobs of schoolteachers and firefighters, but declares cost no object when it comes to sparing the already wealthy even the slightest financial inconvenience.

So far, the Obama administration is standing firm against this outrage. Let’s hope that it prevails in its fight. Otherwise, it will be hard not to lose all faith in America’s future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/opinion/23krugman.html?_r=1&hp

[zbdent]

1. don't forget ... the Bush tax cuts are still in place ...

so where are all the jobs that they're supposed to be creating?

So far, about the only things that the Bush tax cuts are inspiring are people who are likely to inherit fortunes are begging their parents to die before December 31, 2010 ...

[flpoljunkie]

2. Good point. Dems have also failed to renew estate taxes which expired at the end of '09. Dems like

Blanche Lincoln are teaming up with Repubs like John Kyl to increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million for individuals and reduce the estate tax rate to 35%. Krugman ought to call these Dems 'corporate' Dems, rather than 'conservative' Dems. It's far more accurate; there's nothing 'conservative' here except 'conserving' wealth--most of which goes to the top one-tenth of one percent.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2759

[ljm2002]

3. So right!!!

It makes me furious that the Democratic message machine is not churning out this bit of (truthful) propaganda at all turns: the Bush tax cuts for the rich have been in place for 8+ years, where are the friggin' jobs? Nowhere, that's where, PROVING that tax cuts for the rich are NOT a mechanism to create jobs. QED

[KoKo]

4. K&R

[lunatica]

5. If tax cuts and giveaways create jobs shouldn't we have a cornucopia of jobs right now?

Shouldn't every single American worker have a job and be living on easy street? Shouldn't the last 8 years have been the Golden Age of Trickle Down Capitalism? Shouldn't we be the Superpower of Wealth right now? Shouldn't the rising tide of tax giveaways have raised all ships equally? Shouldn't the US be the riches fucking per capita country in history?

And there are Idiocrats who believe that Gator Aid is good for plants and that the rich are god's personal blessed favorites because of their clean family values. The rest of us somehow elicited the wrath of god and are punished. Poverty and economic difficulties are our fault for offending god.