7.08.2006

Oh those irresponsible Bush tax cuts…

The NYTimes of all places:

An unexpectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy is
driving down the projected budget deficit this year, even though spending has
climbed sharply because of the war in Iraq and the cost of hurricane
relief.
On Tuesday, White House officials are expected to announce that the
tax receipts will be about $250 billion above last year's levels and that the
deficit will be about $100 billion less than what they projected six months ago.
The rising tide in tax payments has been building for months, but the increased
scale is surprising even seasoned budget analysts and making it easier for both
the administration and Congress to finesse the big run-up in spending over the
past year.
Tax revenues are climbing twice as fast as the administration
predicted in February, so fast that the budget deficit could actually decline
this year.
The main reason is a big spike in corporate tax receipts, which
have nearly tripled since 2003, as well as what appears to be a big rise in
individual taxes on stock market profits and executive bonuses.

Despite this revelation, I’m quite certain we’ll be hearing flawed analysis from Krugman wannabes like this in the NYTimes and NPR all through the 2006 election.

If we cut taxes for the rich, either A) we raise other taxes or B) we increase
debt or C) we cut spending. A), B) and C) have incentive effects too; we must
consider net incentives.
A tax cut for the rich has minimal incentive effect.
That's because much income at the top is "passive." Corporate shareowners can't
increase their capital gains if tax rates fall--though they may change their tax
accounting.

7.07.2006

More Hasselhoff



All I have to say is that KITT is not a right hand driver.