Bush's Little Secret: His Agenda Will Cost Tax Payers $3 Trillion

[BurtWorm]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18876-2004Sep13.html

Analysis
$3 Trillion Price Tag Left Out As Bush Details His Agenda

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Page A01

The expansive agenda President Bush laid out at the Republican National Convention was missing a price tag, but administration figures show the total is likely to be well in excess of $3 trillion over a decade.

A staple of Bush's stump speech is his claim that his Democratic challenger, John F. Kerry, has proposed $2 trillion in long-term spending, a figure the Massachusetts senator's campaign calls exaggerated. But the cost of the new tax breaks and spending outlined by Bush at the GOP convention far eclipses that of the Kerry plan.

Bush's pledge to make permanent his tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of 2010 or before, would reduce government revenue by about $1 trillion over 10 years, according to administration estimates. His proposed changes in Social Security to allow younger workers to invest part of their payroll taxes in stocks and bonds could cost the government $2 trillion over the coming decade, according to the calculations of independent domestic policy experts.

And Bush's agenda has many costs the administration has not publicly estimated. For instance, Bush said in his speech that he would continue to try to stabilize Iraq and wage war on terrorism. The war in Iraq alone costs $4 billion a month, but the president's annual budget does not reflect that cost.....

[shaolinmonkey]

1. Ah, the borrow-and-spend Republicans.

Who's more fiscally responsible? Such amazing horseshit.

[BurtWorm]

2. Bribing us with our own money!

The bastids. :grr:

[bryant69]

3. I really liked what Krugman said the other day

I think it was Krugman. That all of Bush's budget figures are based on the Tax Cuts expiring on time; in other words he is basing his budget predictions (mainly that the deficit won't be that bad) on failing to get future legislature passed.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[gandalf]

4. The tax payers minus the top 5% or so

That's the group who receives the money.

It is interesting that so many people who are not part of this upper percentile will vote for Bush.