Zakaria: The legacy of America's most unpopular president
I have my DVR set to record Fareed Zakaria's GPS on Sundays on CNN. I don't usually watch any of the 24/7 News Networks but I do like Fareed's reporting and analysis.
He was asked what he thought Bush's biggest mistake as President was and most people will go through that little list in their head.... Iraq, Katrina, Medicare Part D (nice idea but poorly executed plan), the Economy and so forth.
Well, Fareed Zakaria summed it all up. More over the fold
http://edition.cnn.com/...
He summed it up to one thing..... The Bush Tax Cuts. The Most Un-Conservative thing he ever did, the most irresponsible thing he ever did and of course those Republicans (and some Democrats) were with him, lock, stock and barrel.
CNN: In your view what was his biggest mistake?
Zakaria: I think the single most significant bad decision George Bush made came early in his presidency. It was a decision widely applauded at the time and with much bipartisan support. Remember the Bush tax cuts?
Remember their effect on America's finances? In 2000, the Clinton administration had almost balanced the federal budget and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was projecting that over the next 10 years the United States would have budget surpluses that would add up to $5.6 trillion.
By the spring of 2002, two-thirds of that projected surplus had evaporated and the rest disappeared soon thereafter. It was the most profoundly un-conservative act of Bush's presidency. Rather than pay down debt and save in the good times for the inevitable bad times, Bush squandered it all so that all of us -- particularly high income earners -- could indulge in a bit more consumption.
And now, when times have gotten bad and we sorely need that reserve, we're clean out of cash. The federal budget deficit will likely range from $1.2 to $1.8 trillion over the next few years. Imagine what we could have done by either saving that money or spending it wisely on an energy revolution, on upgrading the infrastructure, on modernizing the health-care system.
So, while Bush & Company were trumping up a false Economy they were also destroying the Federal Government that holds this Country together.
Mr. Zakaria says he thinks the tax cuts were the most Un-Conservative thing Bush did, not saving for a rainy day which of course means it is costing the taxpayers even more in interest due on the debt to cover those tax breaks.
I actually think it was more like the most Libertarian thing he did in an attempt to destroy the Federal Government and his actions still may succeed.
Hopefully, Obama's team will turn the situation around but they HAVE to be realistic on the tax situation. Sorry folks, if you want that Social Security check, or Disability check for security, or our roads paved correctly and not patched up, medical care for all, then we must all pay our share of taxes. Right now that burden is falling heavily on the lower income groups. They don't get to have a 15% top tax rate on their investments, instead they pay 15% or more plus 7.65 in SS & Medicare for a figure closer to 25%.
Okay, I simply saw something today that made me think.... Wow, how different things could have been today if only.