TaxCutTruths

Some truth about tax cuts

Dave Whitaker, the Twiggs Times

Did you see the storm that hit the nation last week? No, it wasn't a storm of weather, it was a storm of hype, misinformation, lies, and rhetoric. The bull was flying, and no I don't mean a cow either. I'm talking about the amount of bull which started flying after George W. Bush introduced his $1.6 trillion dollar tax cut. Some of the same lies, and some new misinformation has been staining the nation. Look at me as your stain-remover, and truth teller, as I cut down some of the myths and lies about tax cuts.

First, let's hit all the typical lies about tax cuts.

1. The government cannot "afford" a large tax cut. An utter and total lie. Because the government does not have money of its own, it's OUR money. Government could totally repeal all income taxes if it would drastically reduce spending. So therefore, a tax cut can be "paid for"

If there are cuts in spending.

2. Tax cuts cause large deficits. That's another total myth and lie. Deficit spending causes deficits. Tax cuts increase revenue, like the one Ronald Reagan did in the 1980's. The reason why there were deficits were because of the out-of-control spending which occurred, that ballooned the national debt. As I stated in #1, tax cuts can be done as long as you have reductions in spending to go along with the tax cuts.

3. Unless they are "targeted", tax cuts are unfair because they only benefit the rich. That's got three myths in it. One, so-called "targeted" tax cuts for poor Americans are useless, because the lower class does not pay the majority of the taxes, and those "targeted" cuts ignore the middle class who could use the tax relief. Two, the rich pay the majority of the taxes in this country, therefore, they will benefit. Three, it is "fair" to give tax cuts to everyone, including the rich, because the rich are the ones who create jobs.

Now, let's get rid of a couple of myths which have came out after W. introduced his tax cut.

1. It's "too big" and will only benefit "the rich." Totally false. It's only a $1.6 trillion dollar cut, and it does nothing to reduce the size of government, so it's really not that big. It's also an across-the-board cut, so the tax cut would benefit all Americans.

2. We can afford this tax cut if the Democrats won't spend so much money. That's a lie. Because for all the talk of "reducing government spending" done by Republican members of Congress, they've been some of the worst spenders over the past five years. For example, many of the same programs which were targeted for elimination in the original "Contract With America" saw their budgets increase. In the past three budgets, the Congress has approved $30 billion dollars more spending than former President Clinton had asked for. Another lie in this is that the Democrats would be to blame if spending is increased. The GOP, albeit by small margins, controls BOTH houses of Congress. So they will be the ones to decide if spending is reduced or increased.

There you have it. Tax cut myths shot down. It's not rocket science. So, why don't some of these politicians who are supposed to be smarter than us actually understand it?



	home Some truth about tax cuts Dave Whitaker, the Twiggs Times Did you see the storm that hit the nation last week? No, it wasn't a storm of weather, it was a storm of hype, misinformation, lies, and rhetoric. The bull was flying, and no I don't mean a cow either. I'm talking about the amount of bull which started flying after George W. Bush introduced his $1.6 trillion dollar tax cut. Some of the same lies, and some new misinformation has been staining the nation. Look at me as your stain-remover, and truth teller, as I cut down some of the myths and lies about tax cuts. First, let's hit all the typical lies about tax cuts. 1. The government cannot "afford" a large tax cut. An utter and total lie. Because the government does not have money of its own, it's OUR money. Government could totally repeal all income taxes if it would drastically reduce spending. So therefore, a tax cut can be "paid for" If there are cuts in spending. 2. Tax cuts cause large deficits. That's another total myth and lie. Deficit spending causes deficits. Tax cuts increase revenue, like the one Ronald Reagan did in the 1980's. The reason why there were deficits were because of the out-of-control spending which occurred, that ballooned the national debt. As I stated in #1, tax cuts can be done as long as you have reductions in spending to go along with the tax cuts. 3. Unless they are "targeted", tax cuts are unfair because they only benefit the rich. That's got three myths in it. One, so-called "targeted" tax cuts for poor Americans are useless, because the lower class does not pay the majority of the taxes, and those "targeted" cuts ignore the middle class who could use the tax relief. Two, the rich pay the majority of the taxes in this country, therefore, they will benefit. Three, it is "fair" to give tax cuts to everyone, including the rich, because the rich are the ones who create jobs. Now, let's get rid of a couple of myths which have came out after W. introduced his tax cut. 1. It's "too big" and will only benefit "the rich." Totally false. It's only a $1.6 trillion dollar cut, and it does nothing to reduce the size of government, so it's really not that big. It's also an across-the-board cut, so the tax cut would benefit all Americans. 2. We can afford this tax cut if the Democrats won't spend so much money. That's a lie. Because for all the talk of "reducing government spending" done by Republican members of Congress, they've been some of the worst spenders over the past five years. For example, many of the same programs which were targeted for elimination in the original "Contract With America" saw their budgets increase. In the past three budgets, the Congress has approved $30 billion dollars more spending than former President Clinton had asked for. Another lie in this is that the Democrats would be to blame if spending is increased. The GOP, albeit by small margins, controls BOTH houses of Congress. So they will be the ones to decide if spending is reduced or increased. There you have it. Tax cut myths shot down. It's not rocket science. So, why don't some of these politicians who are supposed to be smarter than us actually understand it?