If George Bush has a leg to stand on in his bid for re-selection, it's the popularity of his tax cuts. Republicans and Democrats love them, but what most Americans fail to consider are the consequences of diminishing federal revenues, namely less money for health care, schools, etc.
Bush took note of Kerry's proposals to expand health care, education and other domestic programs while still cutting in half the deficit. Kerry, the president, said, has promised more than he can pay for.We all know what Bush means when he says "tax relief." Its about time we started explaining this to our friends, family, neighbors and coworkers.
"He's going to have to pay for it somehow," Bush told thousands of cheering supporters at the Orange County Convention Center. "It's pretty clear how he's going to fill the tax gap -- he's going to tax all of you. Fortunately, you're not going to give him that chance."
Aides to Kerry, who was vacationing in Idaho, dismissed Bush's sharpest criticism to date by turning the argument back on the president. They said Bush had presided over an era of "hidden" tax increases in the form of higher college tuition, health care costs, gas prices and property taxes -- all while incomes had fallen.
"A jobless economy means nothing to the millions of Americans looking for work or wondering where their next paycheck will come from," Kerry said in a statement. "The Bush economic policies have failed. It's time for America to move in a new direction."
"We're beginning to see a pattern here," Bush said. "Senator Kerry is one of the main opponents of tax relief in the United States Congress. However, when tax increases are proposed, it's a lot easier to get a yes vote out of him."
Bush faulted Kerry for voting against tax breaks for some married couples and families with children and for an expansion of the 10 percent tax bracket, as well as other pieces of the tax cut bills enacted under Bush.
Kerry has said he supports permanently extending those cuts, which are due to expire at year's end. But he wants to roll back other parts that benefit wealthy people. Kerry has said that money would be used to help cut the deficit by at least half in his first term.
Kerry has proposed a health care plan that has been estimated to cost about $900 billion over 10 years. His campaign has not laid out how that plan would be paid for.
Speaking of taxes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Cay Johnston has a new book out -- "Perfectly Legal."
"If you’re the kind of person who works hard and plays by the rules, prepare to be outraged. Perfectly Legal will show you why the American Dream isI hear that John Kerry took some time out of his busy schedule to read it. Maybe someone should sit Dubya down and read it to him.
turning into a lie. This explosive book, by an award-winning investigative reporter, reveals exactly how the tax code and many other laws have been twisted over the past three decades to subsidize the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the richest and most powerful fraction of 1 percent of our country."