Cheney defends Bush tax-cut plan
Posted on 01/11/2003 3:34:07 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Cheney defends Bush tax-cut plan
Critics continue attack, saying proposal benefits rich, will increase deficit
01/11/2003
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney rebutted critics of the administration's sweeping tax cut proposals Friday in what is becoming an increasingly difficult sell among Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
And within minutes of his rebuttal, Senate Democrats were back on the attack.
"I believe there ought to be a tax cut, but I don't believe that we ought to have a $675 billion, 10-year tax cut at a time when we are up to our neck in federal deficits that go as far as the eye can see," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
"And I certainly don't think we ought to have a tax cut that has a minuscule amount of its impact on this country's economy in the next year."
Then, holding up a dime in the Senate press gallery, he likened it to the stimulus effect that President Bush's plan would have this year.
"A dime on the dollar," Mr. Dorgan said about $67 billion.
The sweep of the president's proposal - accelerating the income tax cuts already planned and eliminating taxes in dividends paid investors - has given Mr. Dorgan and other critics plenty of fodder. The cuts, they say, are too big, too late, too much for the wealthy and far too expensive, threatening to balloon deficits far into the future.
"The package was so aggressive that it allowed virtually all Democrats and potentially a decent number of liberal and moderate Republicans to feel fairly comfortable to attack it," said political analyst Charles Cook. "There's a lot of ammunition in there."
Mindful of the mounting criticisms, Mr. Cheney dismissed them Friday as all too familiar. "We've all heard them before," he told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Addressing the growing deficits, Mr. Cheney acknowledged that the "recession, the declining stock market and the ongoing war on terror have combined to turn budget surpluses into deficits."
But he argued that the "actual impact on the deficit will be considerably smaller" under the president's stimulus plan because it would "generate new growth ... expand the tax base ... and increase tax revenue to the federal government."
It is the "economic sensible thing to do," Mr. Cheney said.
Also, he argued, the centerpiece of the president's plan - the $364 billion in dividend tax cuts - was not "tilted toward a small number of wealthy beneficiaries," as some critics charge.
At least 54 million Americans own stocks that pay dividends, he said, and 45 percent of all dividend recipients make less than $50,000 a year.
Moreover, half of all dividend income goes to the elderly, he said, "many of whom rely on these checks as a steady source of income in their retirement."
Finally, Mr. Cheney disputed claims that the new tax cuts would hinder the war on terrorism, pointing to the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
"President Ronald Reagan cut taxes to stimulate economic growth, increased defense spending and won the Cold War," Mr. Cheney said.
Two years ago, a dozen Democrats backed the president's $1.35 trillion tax cut plan in the Senate. But so far, none are rushing forward for a reprise. And at least two Republicans - John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island - have plenty of questions of their own.
"I don't believe that I'm trashing the plan," Mr. McCain said on NBC's Today show.
There were "some very good things in it," he acknowledged, but there also were "some things that I don't agree with."
In short, Mr. McCain said, he was looking for more relief for the middle class: "And I don't think that that view is a lonely one."
Mr. Chafee, meanwhile, has joined Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in offering legislation to freeze the current tax rate cuts for the most wealthy taxpayers, which would save about $88 billion.
"Our government is in deficit," Mr. Chafee said, "and we have large, expensive challenges ahead."
Republicans control both the House and Senate, but the margins are slim, particularly in the Senate, where the Democrats can better use the rules to shape legislation.
White House aides, however, don't expect any congressional action on the president's plan soon.
"The year is just beginning, and the process is under way," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.
E-mail bhillman@dallasnews.com
The 'RATS just don't get it. They attack! attack! attack!, but rarely offer any sound, reasoned countermeasures to President Bush's proposals. Check this related article out for a good read, btw:
| Entrapment by Bush: He plays Democrats for fools, and they always rise to his bait |
Excerpt:
Mindful of the mounting criticisms, Mr. Cheney dismissed them Friday as all too familiar. "We've all heard them before," he told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Addressing the growing deficits, Mr. Cheney acknowledged that the "recession, the declining stock market and the ongoing war on terror have combined to turn budget surpluses into deficits."
But he argued that the "actual impact on the deficit will be considerably smaller" under the president's stimulus plan because it would "generate new growth ... expand the tax base ... and increase tax revenue to the federal government."
It is the "economic sensible thing to do," Mr. Cheney said.
Also, he argued, the centerpiece of the president's plan - the $364 billion in dividend tax cuts - was not "tilted toward a small number of wealthy beneficiaries," as some critics charge.
At least 54 million Americans own stocks that pay dividends, he said, and 45 percent of all dividend recipients make less than $50,000 a year.
Moreover, half of all dividend income goes to the elderly, he said, "many of whom rely on these checks as a steady source of income in their retirement."
Finally, Mr. Cheney disputed claims that the new tax cuts would hinder the war on terrorism, pointing to the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
"President Ronald Reagan cut taxes to stimulate economic growth, increased defense spending and won the Cold War," Mr. Cheney said.
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my President Bush ping list!. . .don't be shy. 
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON – Vice President Dick Cheney rebutted critics of the administration's sweeping tax cut proposals Friday in what is becoming an increasingly difficult sell among Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
And within minutes of his rebuttal, Senate Democrats were back on the attack.
"I believe there ought to be a tax cut, but I don't believe that we ought to have a $675 billion, 10-year tax cut at a time when we are up to our neck in federal deficits that go as far as the eye can see," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
"And I certainly don't think we ought to have a tax cut that has a minuscule amount of its impact on this country's economy in the next year."
Then, holding up a dime in the Senate press gallery, he likened it to the stimulus effect that President Bush's plan would have this year.
"A dime on the dollar," Mr. Dorgan said about $67 billion.
The sweep of the president's proposal – accelerating the income tax cuts already planned and eliminating taxes in dividends paid investors – has given Mr. Dorgan and other critics plenty of fodder. The cuts, they say, are too big, too late, too much for the wealthy and far too expensive, threatening to balloon deficits far into the future.
< snip >
Two years ago, a dozen Democrats backed the president's $1.35 trillion tax cut plan in the Senate. But so far, none are rushing forward for a reprise. And at least two Republicans – John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island – have plenty of questions of their own.
See excerpt in post #2 for the "good stuff"...
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.
Here is some of the rest of the story:
”Hold Senators Chris Dodd and Jon Corzine responsible for their place in this current stock market debacle. They were so anxious to tie Bush to this that they failed to recognize how dirty their own guys are. They're so anxious to paint the GOP as a bunch of rich guys, that they forget that their richest U.S. Senator could buy and sell the richest GOP senator more than 13 times. Here are Roll Call's Senate Richie Riches:”
1. John F. Kerry (D-MA) $675 million
2. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) $400 million
3. Herb Kohl (D-WS) $300 million
4. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) $200 million
5. (tie) Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) $50 million - Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) $50 million
7. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) $40 million
8. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) $30 million
9. Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) $20 million - Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) $20 million
10. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) $15 million - Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) $10 million
"The money isn't an indication of guilt, but the facts are. Former Goldman Sachs CEO John Corzine (D-NJ) ran a stock scam, as we cover in Corzine Ran Stock Chophouse. Chris Dodd (D-CT) was the one who relaxed all these accounting standards (See Dodd in Accounting Scam Sandwich.) This lack of regulation, combined with Clinton-era lack of morals and the 1993 Tax Act that encouraged CEOs to inflate stock prices, led to our current scandal."
The Socialist Democrats can attack all they want, just more smoke and mirrors to cover the taxes they didn't pay.
The PUBS need to do a better job of countering the RATS mantra of 'Tax cuts for the rich'.
Wouldn't it would be great if every time on TV when you heard 'Tax cuts for the rich', it was followed by "Taxcuts are for Taxpayers".
Bump! Thanks for the link. That article is right on the money! But, the dems will never learn. heheh
Damn those rich people making less than $50,000 a year just to trick us.
Bump.
Tax cuts are like RAT POISON to the DemocRATS.
Serve 'em up some more D-CON, President Dubbya!!!
I'm still hearing a lot of shrill squeakin' and squealin' in the walls...
Bump.
...and I'll see Miss Victoria's bump. (RR was sure something special, wasn't he, Victoria.)
The G.O.P. is the house that The Gipper built
Sure he was!
I'll raise your bumps and state that despite what TIME magazine thinks, Ronald Reagan was the "Man of the (20th) Century."
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