The cut in tax rates led to long term growth, raising tax revenues beyond what they would have been with higher tax rates.
The tax cuts worked, and they worked well. Watch and see, as the deficit has shrunk over the past 3 years.
FY revenues outlays balance 2000 2025.5 1789.2 236.2 2001 1945.9 1820.6 125.3 2002 1777.8 1929.2 (151.3) 2003 1665.5 2018.2 (352.8) 2004 1707.3 2082.1 (374.8) 2005 1888.2 2167.3 (279.1) 2006 2037.1 2247.1 (210.0) 2007 (est) 2103.3 2305.4 (202.2)
Sure deficits have shrunk in the past three years, because 2003 and 2004 ran the highest deficits in real dollars since World War II. A moderate disaster is an improvement on a big one.
The tax cuts were great and certainly beneficial to the economy, but the spending cuts that didn't go along with them have increased federal debt at the end of this year by $1,900,000,000,000.00 2007 dollars and a big tax hike - not just expiration of the cuts relative to 2000, but additional increases - is coming next administration to pay for it.