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Bass said he supports extending the Bush tax cuts for all income brackets, and he objected to the use of their approaching expiration as "the class warfare issue of the election." He said no "intelligent economist" would support the stance of most Democrats, who would extend the tax cuts for everyone but the highest earners.
Here's one of those uneducated economists:
"Not all budgetary dollars are created equal," said Alan Blinder, professor and co-director of Princeton University's Center for Economic Policy Studies, in a conference Wednesday morning. "Some have a lot of bang for the buck, and some have very little. The GDP increase per dollar of budgetary cost is in the range of 1.6, 1.7 for things like food stamps and unemployment benefits, and in the range of .35 for extending the Bush tax cuts. We could get some substantial job creation by simply reprogramming the $75 billion that would be saved over the next two years by not extending the upper-bracket Bush tax cuts and spending it instead on unemployment benefits, food stamps, and the like."
Blinder's economic advice supports the tax policy of President Obama and the Democrats, who would like to maintain tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans, while letting the cuts for those with incomes above $250,000 expire. Letting the tax cuts lapse is projected to trim approximately $675 billion from the deficit over 10 years, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
By doing the opposite of what Charlie Bass wants, we can create more jobs and lower the deficit.
No wonder the American people want the Bass-supported Bush tax cuts on the wealthy to expire. No wonder this view is also found here. And here. And here (.pdf). And here. And here (.pdf).
Annie Kuster's got a new approach. As she said last night (2:28):
Instead of going backward to an economic policy of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and companies that move jobs overseas, I believe we need a new approach. One that cuts taxes for the middle class, eliminating capital gains tax on small business investment, and rewarding companies for creating jobs right here at home
Charlie Bass, a creature of Washington for many years, is part of the problem. Between now and election day, it is your job to remind voters of that.
