Bush pitches tax cut to local seniors

 

Bush said he aims to spur economic growth with a large and aggressive tax cut package, which passed the House at $550 billion last week, and is now being debated in the Senate, where moderate GOP senators are promising to cap the plan at $350 billion. Bush was critical of skeptics of his plan, accusing them of perpetuating “class warfare.”

 

“The government shouldn’t pick and choose winners when it comes to tax relief,” he said. However, according to more than 450 leading economists, that is exactly what the Bush tax plan does. The president spoke of how his plan would help seniors, some 177,000 of whom in Indiana rely on income from stock dividends, but he did not mention that 43 percent of dividend benefits would go to those 2.5 percent of seniors with incomes over $200,000.

 

Addressing the argument that tax cuts will worsen the budget deficit (under Bush’s plan, projected at $2.7 trillion by 2013), the president blamed the deficit on the pre-Sept. 11 recession, and the cost of the war on terrorism, promising “fiscal sanity in Washington.”

 

According to the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities, Bush’s 2001 tax cuts are responsible for one-third of the current deficit. The cuts now being debated are projected to keep the budget in deficit for the next 75 years.

 

After the president’s speech, some 30 labor, veteran and senior activists under the banner of the Fair Taxes for All Coalition gathered to refute the Bush plan. Outside, “Millionaire Man” the Rev. Dr. Jim Wolf greeted passersby in a tuxedo to draw attention to the fact that people with incomes over $1 million would receive a $90,222 tax break, while half of all taxpayers would get less than $100.

 

Retired teacher Carlie Anderson believes the tax cuts will actually hurt seniors in years to come. “This country isn’t planning for the future. We’re dipping into funds we’ll need to take care of retirees in the long run,” she said.

 

Though Henry Gerner, also a retiree, would benefit from the Bush plan, he still opposes it. “What this plan does is cream off still more money for the rich. Most citizens will just get crumbs.”