Same Old Tired Refrain
By Brian Yates (01/12/03)
Liberals have been crying a familiar refrain since President Bush announced his economic stimulus plan on Tuesday. The Washington Post screamed that the proposal was “irresponsible” and “unfair.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch whined that the stimulus plan was a “budget-busting, fiscally irresponsible giveaway to the wealthy.”
Of course, the New York Times could not fail to get in on the action and sniffed that Bush’s plan would “disproportionately benefit the wealthiest.” The Democrats have yet again resorted to their tiring class warfare campaign, and yet again, it simply will not work. It didn’t work in last year’s mid-term election and it won’t work now.
The most publicized part of the plan was the ending of the double taxation on stock dividends. The mainstream media continues to harp on the $364 billion cost of cutting this tax; however, the real question is, why were they being taxed twice in the first place? For companies that pay dividends on their stocks, they are first taxed on their profits, and then the investor is taxed on the dividends. The same money is being taxed twice and the President is absolutely right to end it. Democrats continue to say the plan costs too much and will not do much for the economy. But what do actual economists think? According to Jim Glassman, senior economist at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., “We’re going to have a fairly big stimulus package, and it will just speed the recovery that is already underway.” Chuck Carlson, chartered financial analyst and editor of the DRIP Investment Newsletter stated that, “It’s going to help the overall stock market.”
By cutting the tax on dividends, White House economists expect that the stock market could jump by 10 percent. And when polls have shown that nearly half of all Americans have invested in the market, any jump would be a great help; 10 percent would be tremendous. Is the cost too much though? Economists estimate that eliminating the double taxation of dividends would return $20 billion to the economy just this year.
What of the charges that this tax cut is “irresponsible”, “unfair”, and “budget-busting?” On Hardball with Chris Matthews Wednesday night, Matthews asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein why the “Democratic Party goes back year after year to class warfare without any new ideas?” Feinstein, of course, responded with the typical liberal response of tax cuts cause deficits. Sen. John Sununu then replied by saying, “You don’t get deficits by cutting taxes. We have a deficit today because the economy tanked, revenue collection slowed down. The most important factor to closing the deficit will be economic growth.” Folks, Sen. Sununu is absolutely correct. Tax cuts do not cause deficits and you cannot stimulate the economy by way of tax increases.
A strong economy means people make more money. If people make more money, they pay more taxes. More taxes, even at lower rates, means more tax revenue. This is simple math here, people, nothing fancy. Dianne Feinstein and other liberals can’t seem to grasp what so many people do: Americans are not dumb. We don’t need government to spend our money for us. The liberal mindset was exhibited by then-President Bill Clinton in 1999 when he said of the surplus, “We could give it all back to you, and hope you spend it right.” Hope we spend it right? Folks, liberals believe that ordinary Americans are too stupid to know how to manage their money. They believe that only the select few; the Dianne Feinsteins and the Bill Clintons of the world know how to spend your money. And notice I said YOUR money because that is what the surplus is.
Is it any wonder that the nation voted overwhelmingly Republican in the last election? Liberals don’t trust you with your own money…you might not “spend it right.” Of course, I can see where these clowns may think government knows best, just witness the roaring economies of communist China and that of the Soviet Union before its collapse. Oh, never mind. Bad example.
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