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apechild · 11-25-2003, 10:42 AM

By reducing future revenues an administration can impede the growth of government under leadership of subsequent administrations.

That said, there's a lot of political opportunism involved. Many voters tend to think myopically, and are extremely short-term oriented. Take as an example all the talk about the rise in unemployment during the early part of Bush's term. While any reasonable, informed individual recognizes the rise in unemployment to be the result of secular economic trends that began long before Bush assumed office (and were only marginally influenced by fiscal policy anyway), the majority of voters still tend to attribute job growth with the policies of the current administration.

Bush knows this, so he enacted measures of tax relief to help inject some stimulus into the economy, while increasing spending to help meet his domestic goals and placate some of his opponents. As we head into the 2004 elections, Bush can claim that he rescued the economy, passed a prescription drug benefit, increased education spending, prosecuted the war on terrorism, made our country safer, and his message will resonate with a great many voters.

During the early part of his second term (assuming he's re-elected) he'll be able to pursue some unpopular measures at home, such as budget cuts to many domestic programs. He'll be able to reduce the deficit and won't have to worry about re-election. The deficit and reduced domestic spending will then be the subject of much debate during the 2008 election, at which point we all hope that spending on the war on terrorism will have abated, if not stopped altogether.

In summary, it's not about being a Republican, it's about being a politician.

Edited for clarity

11-25-2003, 10:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
apechild Crazy Location: Vermont	By reducing future revenues an administration can impede the growth of government under leadership of subsequent administrations. That said, there's a lot of political opportunism involved. Many voters tend to think myopically, and are extremely short-term oriented. Take as an example all the talk about the rise in unemployment during the early part of Bush's term. While any reasonable, informed individual recognizes the rise in unemployment to be the result of secular economic trends that began long before Bush assumed office (and were only marginally influenced by fiscal policy anyway), the majority of voters still tend to attribute job growth with the policies of the current administration. Bush knows this, so he enacted measures of tax relief to help inject some stimulus into the economy, while increasing spending to help meet his domestic goals and placate some of his opponents. As we head into the 2004 elections, Bush can claim that he rescued the economy, passed a prescription drug benefit, increased education spending, prosecuted the war on terrorism, made our country safer, and his message will resonate with a great many voters. During the early part of his second term (assuming he's re-elected) he'll be able to pursue some unpopular measures at home, such as budget cuts to many domestic programs. He'll be able to reduce the deficit and won't have to worry about re-election. The deficit and reduced domestic spending will then be the subject of much debate during the 2008 election, at which point we all hope that spending on the war on terrorism will have abated, if not stopped altogether. In summary, it's not about being a Republican, it's about being a politician. Edited for clarity __________________ Skwerl. Its wuts fer dinner. Last edited by apechild; 11-25-2003 at 10:51 AM..