Fiscal Responsibility
Harry Zeeve - Page 3
At the end of 2000, the budget had surpluses forecasted for the next few years. The Bush Administration entered along with a Republican Congress and began to propose tax cuts. "The Concord Coalition was cautious from the very start," says Harry. "We wanted to see the surpluses actually come in. For a couple of years we had actual, real deal, surpluses in 2000 and 2001. We were hoping the projections would be right but we wanted to be sure those dollars actually came in. So we recommended a 'wait and see' approach to long term, across the board tax cuts. A year by year assessment, on a one year basis, of how much we could reduce taxes."
"Then a combination of things happened which you can divide real roughly into thirds. About a third of those projections were wrong simply because of changing economic circumstances. Another third was affected by increased spending, and the other third was changed by tax policy, the tax cuts. So you have a combination of a changing economy, increased spending and lower revenues from tax cuts and we're back in deficit soup."
"When you promise big tax cuts, you do not say no to big spending, and your way to pay for it is to slip the bill to our children and grandchildren. It's a recipe for red ink as far as the eye can see," says Harry, adding, "What we desperately need is to move past the political partisan gamesmanship and get towards some real adult leadership and statesmanship on the deficit because frankly the stakes are too high to reduce this to politically trying to outmaneuver the other party."
The Concord Coalition's Fiscal Wake-Up Tour is slated to continue at least through the 2008 elections and perhaps beyond. The panelists sometimes vary from town to town and they definitely come from different political points of view. While they may not agree on the solutions, they do agree on the fact that our current federal fiscal policy is unsustainable. As Harry puts it, "The facts are not Republican or Democrat."
Article:
Harry Zeeve: Page 1 -
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David Walker: Page 1 -
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Alison Acosta Fraser: Page 1 -
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Belle Sawhill: Page 1 -
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Chris Swann: Page 1 -
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Carl Tannenbaum: Page 1 -
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Recipes: Lemon Chicken | Rachel's Omelet | Corn Pudding | Marinated Filet Mignon | Asian Pork Tenderloin and Coconut Jasmine Rice | Grilled Chicken Breasts | Steak au Poivre | Pretzel Salad | End of Spring Beef Stew | Chicken Tarragon | Roasted Sweet Potatoes | No Bowl Cake | Chris and Aunt Mary's Stromboli | Aunt Pat's Pizza Meat | Cracchiola Family Sauce | Chris's Baked Ziti | Aunt Eleanor's Spedini | Post-Thanksgiving Gumbo | Singapore Rice Noodles | Red Chili and Orange Barbecue Sauce | Tandoori-style Grilled Chicken