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DukeLeto · 10-23-2003, 03:39 PM

FEL, I get the distinct impression that you ignored large portions of your own post. The article states that the broadest indicators of employment were <i>unchanged</i>, not that there was an increase in employment. Furthermore, your source refers only to September of this year. A more relevant reference would provide data to show how the job market is faring since the Bush tax cuts, since that seems to be the hot-button issue. Did they provide the stimulus they were allegedly intended to, and if so, was it worth the price in decreased education funding, veterans' benefits, etc., etc.?

To show that the tax cuts are responsible for this spectacular one-month-long trend of tepid employment figures may be possible, but do you really want credit for proving that Bush flushed over a trillion dollars down the toilet in order to generate a single month of mediocre economic news? Yes, a tax cut for low- and middle-income people would have been good. It also would have been affordable, with increases in taxes and penalties for offshore corporate tax cheats and the super-rich, who wouldn't even notice. To free up even more cash, the welfare (I know how much any good individualist hates welfare) that Uncle Sam forks over to oil, timber, agribusiness and nuclear industries could have been eliminated. Then we could have used that money where it was actually needed, rather than handing over half of it to the wealthiest 1% of taxpayers in the nation.

Furthermore, FEL, since you seem intent on perpetuating this fallacy, a tax cut <i>is</i> possible for those who do not make enough to pay income tax. Their SocSec and Medicare taxes could have been eliminated, creating much-needed cash for them that would immediately be spent. Stimulus, anyone? This is far from welfare; it simply allows poor workers to keep every penny they earn. Surely there can be no objections to such a scheme from a true conservative? Hm? (conservative is not equal to Republican, nor is it a pejorative term).

10-23-2003, 03:39 PM	#42 (permalink)
DukeLeto Upright Location: Minneapolis	FEL, I get the distinct impression that you ignored large portions of your own post. The article states that the broadest indicators of employment were <i>unchanged</i>, not that there was an increase in employment. Furthermore, your source refers only to September of this year. A more relevant reference would provide data to show how the job market is faring since the Bush tax cuts, since that seems to be the hot-button issue. Did they provide the stimulus they were allegedly intended to, and if so, was it worth the price in decreased education funding, veterans' benefits, etc., etc.? To show that the tax cuts are responsible for this spectacular one-month-long trend of tepid employment figures may be possible, but do you really want credit for proving that Bush flushed over a trillion dollars down the toilet in order to generate a single month of mediocre economic news? Yes, a tax cut for low- and middle-income people would have been good. It also would have been affordable, with increases in taxes and penalties for offshore corporate tax cheats and the super-rich, who wouldn't even notice. To free up even more cash, the welfare (I know how much any good individualist hates welfare) that Uncle Sam forks over to oil, timber, agribusiness and nuclear industries could have been eliminated. Then we could have used that money where it was actually needed, rather than handing over half of it to the wealthiest 1% of taxpayers in the nation. Furthermore, FEL, since you seem intent on perpetuating this fallacy, a tax cut <i>is</i> possible for those who do not make enough to pay income tax. Their SocSec and Medicare taxes could have been eliminated, creating much-needed cash for them that would immediately be spent. Stimulus, anyone? This is far from welfare; it simply allows poor workers to keep every penny they earn. Surely there can be no objections to such a scheme from a true conservative? Hm? (conservative is not equal to Republican, nor is it a pejorative term). __________________ "I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible)." -- Thomas Paine