Ten years after enactment, the Bush tax cuts have proven to be disastrous economic policy.

[ProSense]

EPI (item #1, front page): Bush Tax Cuts: Disastrous Economic Policy

Ten years after enactment, the Bush tax cuts have proven to be disastrous economic policy. They have widened income inequality, failed to generate strong growth, helped squander budget surpluses, added trillions to the debt, and will cost many more trillions if made permanent.

Tenth Anniversary of the Bush-era Tax Cuts

Andrew Fieldhouse Ethan Pollack

Read Policy Memo

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (the first of a series of Bush-era tax changes) was enacted on June 7, 2001. Since then, the Bush tax cuts have exacerbated the trend of widening income inequality, accompanied the worst economic expansion since World War II, and turned budget surpluses into deficits.

On this 10th anniversary of the first Bush-era tax changes, the following 10 facts should be noted:

1. The Bush tax cuts disproportionately benefited the wealthy.

The Bush-era tax cuts1 conferred disproportionate benefits on those at the top of the earnings distribution, exacerbating a trend of widening income inequality.

• In 2010, the top 1% of earners (i.e., tax filers making over $645,000) received 38% of the breaks in the 2001-08 tax changes; 55% of the tax breaks went to the top 10% of earners (those making over $170,000).2

• The top 0.1% of earners (i.e., making over $3 million) received an average tax cut of roughly $520,000, more than 450 times larger than the share received by an average middle-income family.3

more

[rocktivity]

1. Ten seconds after I first heard of it, I knew the Bush tax cuts would prove to be

a disastrous economic policy!

:eyes:
rocktivity

[indepat]

9. Not letting those tax cuts expire was a monstrous snafu that is biting us in the ass

every day in so many ways. :patriot:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

2. K&R!!! Bookmarking for future reference!!! Thank you! n/t

[apnu]

3. Good stuff, quick read. K&R (nt)

[jtrockville]

4. The tax cuts were NOT disastrous to the government's constituents.

The uber-wealthy are doing just fine, as the stats show.

[Atypical Liberal]

5. +1

This is very important. I wish DU had a way to upvote comments.

The tax cuts were not disastrous. The tax cuts worked fantastically. As you said, they benefited the government's prime constituents very, very well.

[ProSense]

7. How about a slogan:

The tax cuts were NOT disastrous, government sucks!

[Enrique]

6. "Let the damn tax cuts expire!"

"take a damn stand"

I agree with what this person said, and the manner in which she said it. The "damn"'s indicate "no excuses!" :thumbsup:

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x453984

Fri Sep-24-10 10:54 AM

Ugh! What the hell happened to making the middle-class tax cuts permanent?

If they're going to vote, separate the tax cuts into two bills, middle class and rich, and then vote. Take a damn stand.

[tekisui]

8. End the Bush-Obama Tax Cuts!

[golfguru]

10. Bush taxcuts sucked and Obama had the audacity to extend them

We are in deep debt, and tax INCREASES are needed and soon!