Iraqi quagmire, job losses at home sapping W's support (MEGA-PROJECTILE BARF ALERT)

Star Newspapers (Chicago) ^ | Sunday, October 5, 2003 | David Johnson Star columnist

[Willie Green]

As I see it, I just cleaned your clock by taking the conservative perspective on a wide range of issues. It really doesn't matter to me whether you actually voted for Nixon or not. When it comes down to it, Nixon's trip to China is a flimsy dodge. You can hide behind that if you want, I think others can judge that you're merely tossing up one smokescreen after another.

[Chi-townChief]

ROTFLMAO

Right, Willie - anything you say.

[okie01]

"Dubya didn't do that. Instead, he adheres to a politicly simplistic and myopic dogma of tax reduction while irresponsibly ignoring his duty to balance the budget by controlling expenditures or obtaining revenue from other sources."

I'm afraid I just can't buy that. Tax cuts benefit the economy. There can be no argument about that. Consumers and investors are better able to direct their spending and investments toward improving productivity than the federal government.

I'll go along with controlling expenditures -- up to a point. Education spending, the farm bill, etc. are all indefensibly bloated. No doubt about that, either. But we are also a.) in the process of rebuilding an important segment of the economy (argue with the methods, if you will, but New York City and the airlines are vital to a healthy economy) and b.) fighting a war. That expenditures have increased, resulting in a budget deficit, should come as no surprise.

Finally, we're just not going to come to any agreement on punitive protective tariffs. Not only would such an action curb imports, it would destroy the market for our exports. And, so far as world trade was concerned, it would amount to Smoot-Hawley II.

Employment is always the last thing to recover after an economic slump. Every recovery has been called a "jobless recovery"...up to a point. It will improve soon enough. And in large enough measure.

At that, 6.1% unemployment doesn't rate as catastrophic (unless you're one of the unemployed, of course).

[Willie Green]

I'm afraid I just can't buy that. Tax cuts benefit the economy.

Only when the money remains within the domestic economy to provide stimulus through the trickle-down ripple effect. Otherwise, they're merely a drain on the Treasury.

Finally, we're just not going to come to any agreement on punitive protective tariffs. Not only would such an action curb imports, it would destroy the market for our exports

Actually, we are in agreement regarding punitive protective tariffs.
I remain totally against them.
It's just that you obviously don't understand anything about "revenue tariffs."
Revenue tariffs CAN'T be set excessively high, or else trade would diminish excessively and decrease revenue. At lower tariff rates of 10~15% however, trade is only partially diminished while revenues are maximized.