The real debate will be about what kind of tax cuts we have. After reading this opinion, tell us what you think. We'll post the most interesting comments. Bush's proposal doesn't make taxes fairer. His proposal seems best designed to fight a hypothetical recession among high-income households that might occur in 2011.
Most citizens are likely to agree that is a poor way to squander our hard-earned surpluses.
The president's plan is poorly designed to fight a recession that might occur now, even though that is how the president and his advisors often package the proposal. These are the people who are most likely to lose their jobs in a recession, and the ones for whom tax cuts would give the biggest bang for the buck in stimulating the economy. Bush has suggested implementing his tax cut sooner to help fight a recession, but that would raise the long-term costs and the impact on interest rates, and would not mitigate the distributional effects. The president's proposal doesn't make taxes fairer. And if the purpose is to reduce taxes on overburdened American families, it should be noted that for the vast majority of households, taxes are currently lower or as low as they have been in the last 20 or 30 years.