Scott McClellen- "Bush is a Fiscal Conservative"

[scaeagles]

First of all, Bush is no fiscal conservative, and I suppose you would refer to me as a "Bushie".

Tax cuts have stimulated the economy. Always have, always will. The Reagan years are the perfect example of this. They also brought us out of the economic downturn that started 9 months or so prior to Bush taking office in 2001.

The deficit problem is one of spending, not of taxation. Cutting income taxes does little to affect the wealthy. They have their wealth sheltered and structured in ways as to pay the smallest amount of taes possible. The problem isn't the rate of taxation. The problem is the tax code, and if you want to rewrite it, I'm with you. Messing with income tax rates only affects that that are attempting to acquire wealth, not those that have it already.

Looking at the deficit as a percentage of GDP, as most economists do, it is well below what it has been historically.

It has been shown that the so-called surplus was from accounting tricks commonly used to make a bottom line look better. I can try to find appropriate links if anyone cares to see them. Also, they were "projected surpluses", and nothing real had yet materialized. I can "project" anything I like.