February 3, 2003 6:24 AM

The emperor has no clothes

Bush's plan for economy loses steam on Capitol Hill

Remember when your mother told you that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is? It seems that even Shrub's political allies are beginning to see that his economic proposals really DO sound too good to be true.

WASHINGTON -- Less than a month after President Bush unveiled his ambitious $674 billion plan to cut taxes and spur economic growth, its central pillar is falling flat on Capitol Hill.

Key members of Congress -- both Republicans and Democrats -- are cool to Bush's ambitious proposal to eliminate taxes on dividend income. Some are pushing to scale it back or supplant it with other initiatives, such as aid to financially troubled states.

"The president's tax proposal, as sent to Congress, cannot become law," said Sen. John Breaux, D-La., a leader of a bipartisan group of centrist senators working on alternatives "It's headed for change."

A list of people throwing cold water on the dividend idea reads like an honor roll of tax policy-makers. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has said it cannot pass in its current form. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board privately has questioned whether it would spark economic growth.

It's not that there weren't some well-intetioned ideas in his plan, but Shrub seems to have forgotten that all of these ideas have a cost. Promising tax relief is one thing; figuring out how to pay for it and/or what programs get cut is another story. It wasn't all that long ago that we actually had a balanced budget, right? Just think, Republicans used to ridicule Democrats for running big deficits when they were in the majority. The times, they are a-changin', eh??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 3, 2003 6:24 AM.

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