Title: Impostor : how George W. Bush bankrupted America and betrayed the Reagan legacy /
Authors: Bartlett, Bruce R., 1951-
Publisher: Doubleday,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Bush, George W.; Conservatism United States; United States Economic policy; United States Politics and government; United States Economic policy
Abstract: George W. Bush came to the presidency in 2000 claiming to be the heir of Ronald Reagan. Reaganite economist Bartlett started out as a supporter of Bush and helped him craft his tax cuts, but he was dismayed by the way they were executed, and has reluctantly concluded that Bush is not a Reaganite at all, but an unprincipled opportunist. He predicts that within a few years, Bush's tax cuts and unrestricted spending will produce an economic crisis that will require a major tax increase. Bartlett has surprisingly kind words for Clinton, whose record on the budget was far better than Bush's. In fact, Bartlett concludes, Bush is less like Reagan than like Nixon: an arch-conservative Republican, bitterly hated by liberals, who vainly tried to woo moderates by enacting big parts of the liberal program. It didn't work then, and it won't work now.--From publisher description.
Contents: I know conservatives, and George W. Bush is no conservative -- The end of serious policy analysis -- Why the Bush tax cuts didn't deliver -- The worst legislation in history? -- The worst records on trade since Hoover? -- Is Enron a metaphor for Bush's economic policy? -- On the budget, Clinton was better -- Is Bush another Nixon? -- The inevitable tax increase -- The shape of taxes to come -- The post-Bush era: Republican or Democratic?