Jobs? Oil? Iraq? On Second Thought, Let's Talk Taxes -NYT

[Rose Siding]

THE economy is slowing, prices are rising and the lift that came from last year's tax cuts has faded into memory. What is the White House to do?

With the Republican National Convention just two weeks away, top advisers to President Bush are looking for a few big ideas to add some sizzle to the economic platform.

Don't expect Mr. Bush to advocate a national sales tax to replace the income tax, even though he flirted with the idea at a campaign stop in Florida last week. The suggestion drew hoots of derision from Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, who said consumers would face a 20 percent tax on everything they bought. Bush campaign officials quickly denied that any such plan was in the works.

Still, Mr. Bush's advisers said the president wants to make tax reform a cornerstone of his second term, and campaign officials see the potential to win over voters by pledging to fix a system that is widely seen as complex and unfair.

One thought is to change the system so that it focuses less on taxing what people earn and more on taxing what they spend..............

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/15/business/yourmoney/15view.html

[wurzel]

1. I thought he was the "war president". Sounds like a flip-flop to me!

[krkaufman]

2. Obnoxious assumption: "the lift that came from last year's tax cuts"

Who the heck says we've experienced *ANY* lift from the tax cuts? The middling blip we saw was likely mostly due to massive deficit and war spending, and a brief uptick in corporate purchasing after months of restraint.

[progressivebydesign]

13. yeah.. I'm still pondering THAT strange sentence...

..cuz I'm not recalling any lift in these parts!

[Kierkegaard]

3. Bad to worse...

"...is widely seen as complex and unfair." No kiddin? Mighty big of him to offer to fix something that is partially his own damn mistake in the first place, huh? The 'tax only what we spend' ploy is a brilliant stroke. It just re-shifts the tax burden further onto the majority of expenditure: average Americans, and further frees the rich to reap tax-free cash on dividends and other investments.

What a :+

[Joy Anne]

4. sales tax rate

A Libertarian listmate keeps trying to convince us to go with a sales tax. Their (probably underestimated) sales tax rate is 23% to cover the Libertarian view of necessary federal government functions. I don't think that would sell.

[neonplaque]

5. so he want's a national sales tax...

"One thought is to change the system so that it focuses less on taxing what people earn and more on taxing what they spend."

[Rose Siding]

7. Exactly, but...

"Don't expect Mr. Bush to advocate a national sales tax"

Welcome to DU, neonplaque :hi:

[newyawker99]

10. Hi neonplaque!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[krkaufman]

6. Just the facts, weed.

Re: this quote from the article...

Mr. Kerry has already been saying that the Bush tax cuts flowed overwhelmingly to the very wealthiest taxpayers, and last week he jumped on a new study by the Congressional Budget Office that, he said, showed the top 1 percent of income-earners received one-third of the recent tax-cut benefits.

Ummm... no. The *REPORT* said that, along with every article citing the report. Kerry was simply quoting the report, so why would this op-editor feel the need to make it seem like it was just Kerry's opinion?

[Strelnikov_]

8. "Economists are still betting that growth will gather speed again

if oil prices recede from their current level of around $45 a barrel."

loindelrio is still betting that if he wins the lottery growth in his bank account will gather speed again.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. good headline -- Bush gotta change the subject n/t

[Neverarepublican]

11. National Sales Tax is a very stupid idea

I live in a suburb of Cleveland and we have a sales tax of 8%.
When we buy big ticket items we have to think about how much the sales tax is going to add to the price. Won't a National Sales tax hurt a lot of industries because people will put off longer buying those big ticket items? I just see a slower growth of our economy with a national sales tax.
By the way doesn't Bush and Co. just want us to shop till we drop while he makes war?:beer:

[indepat]

12. What you say is true, but it will take the income not spent by the wealthy

from taxation, further screwing both the middle class and the most poor which is what the neocons want. I've got a nickel that says when the neocons do away with income taxes, they will leave the social security taxes untouched because social security taxes are not paid on income above the base amount.

[JimHarper3]

14. And the wealthy will take their untaxed income...

and spend it in foreign countries where they won't have to pay sales tax either. Robbing this country of more of it's income. Perfect Republican plan.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. Let's Talk .... World Court for chimp and his cabinet

for war crimes.