As Republicans and Democrats argue over the appropriate size of a tax cut, Comptroller General David Walker is warning that the surplus may disappear after ten years. Host Bob Edwards speaks with NPR's Cokie Roberts about President Bush's legislation on tax and social policy. Former Congressional Budget Office director Robert Reischaeur talks about how the CBO determines the forecasts. Still, Zandi remains confident that the economy will rebound. Unemployment kicked up a bit in January, but businesses added more than a quarter-million new jobs to their payrolls.
Republicans say that means there's plenty of room for a big tax cut.
Democrats argue that the projections of a huge surplus may be overly optimistic in the long term. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Senate Budget Committee that he expects the national debt to be paid down sooner than expected, and that it might be advisable to begin reducing budget surpluses by cutting taxes over the next few years. You will need the free RealAudio Player to listen to audio.