http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pdupont/?id=110002880

President Bush is out there making his case for his new economic stimulous plan. Personally I think it is a great plan but realisticly I am sure there will be some changes made.

Will the plan pass in its present form or will President Bush have to compromise in some areas?

If it passes, I believe it will pass in it's present form, with no changes. I wonder though, is it as good as it sound. Everything that sound good, are not.

The media is making it sound like Congress is ready to scrap the whole plan and make their own. I wonder just how much support Bush has and if the media isn't creating hype in a vacuum.

Any time the President lays an issue on the table, he's going to have to go out and make his case before the American people to get it passed through Congress. This is no different.

Any time the government lowers taxes like the package presented, by the President, the economy benefits. The Democrats will talk against the package because they can't stand the thought of it working. Anything to make the President look good, they are against it. Anything that puts money in the poor and middle class pocket, through economic means, the Democrats are against it.

When the Democrats keep crying the old worn out line, "Tax cuts for the Rich", then I take that as an endorcement. The sooner it is passed, the better.

Yeah, gotta help that 1%!!!
This tax package will help average Joe American who earns between $40,000 to $50,000 gain about $42. That should really help turn the economy around.

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Originally posted by Kelleygirl:
Yeah, gotta help that 1%!!!
This tax package will help average Joe American who earns between $40,000 to $50,000 gain about $42. That should really help turn the economy around.

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If the change in "child tax credit" from $600 to $1000 stays in, the average family with one or two kids and between $15000 and $25000 will gain $400 or $800.

That's more than most people will gain in any other tax bracket up to $120,000 who only benefit from the investments changes.

People in the lower end of the economic scale get burned on social security and medicare tax. The biggest problem with the earned income credit is fraud. Many people who presently don't pay any taxes at all are mistakenly receiving funds, but Bush's plan will not do anything to boost consumer confidence. The economic problem now is too much capacity relative to demand.

Please read Robert B. Reich, professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis.

http://www.cincypost.com/2003/01/09/quest010903.htm

Don't forget what these tax cuts are doing to the national debt.
When the dollar drops, inflation is right around the corner.

Kellygirl-I tried to look at the article. The newspaper logo comes up but the article won't.

As for President Bush's plan for lowering taxes, we need to remember it is a package for the purpose of stimulating the economy. The lower tax rates are a by-product which benefits the taxpayers.

As for the National Debt, the reason we have a National Debt is due to Congressional overspending. And the economy having slowed down the past 3 to 4 years, therefore incoming revenue coming into the treasury being reduced. When President Bush first came into office by first reducing taxes then, he had the right idea. Just that the plan is drawn out over too many years so now he is trying to get things kicked in faster.

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Originally posted by Kelleygirl:
People in the lower end of the economic scale get burned on social security and medicare tax.

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Actually, everyone in the US pays the same amounts for these taxes, combined at 7.65%. (There is a very high ceiling for social security for people earning 6-figure incomes, but there is no ceiling on medicare.)

So poor people are really not getting burned any worse than middle class, even upper middle class.

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The biggest problem with the earned income credit is fraud.

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Do you think this is the only way of cheating on income tax? I'll tell you for nothing, businesses have a lot more than just one avenue of reducing their liability!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&ncid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20030202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/budget

A recent update on the subject. Apparantly President Bush has learned the lessons that was so politically costly to his father.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,83962,00.html

From all appearances, this looks like this will be the final version. Unfortunately the tax cuts will be cut in half of what the President initially proposed.