International
Tax cuts must stay, says Bush
By Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, JAN. 6. In what appears to be the kick-off for the Congressional elections of November 2002, the President, George W. Bush, has brushed aside the Democrats' contention that his tax cuts have worsened the recession and has challenged the opposition for either a roll back or even a tax increase.
``There are going to be people that say we can't have the tax cut go through anymore. That's a tax raise. And I challenge their economics when they say that raising taxes will help the country recover. Not over my dead body will they raise your taxes'', Mr. Bush said.
The President's forceful reply on Saturday was in response to the Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle's speech the day before where he criticised the Bush administration's $ 1.35- trillion tax cuts with the implied threat that Congress may have to look afresh on this again either by way of rolling back or delaying implementation of some of the provisions that have been agreed upon.
Mr. Bush's retort to Mr. Daschle has been compared by many analysts to what his father, the elder Mr. Bush said in 1988. ``Read my lips: No new taxes'' was the favourite line at the Republican National Convention, something that he had to go back on two years later only to end up costing him the election in 1992.
There is no question of the fact that both Democrats and Republicans are seeing how to set the parameters of debate for this year's Congressional elections where the stakes are high in both the House of Representatives and the Senate with the Republicans having the additional pressure of holding on to the Governorships in the States.
The Democrats want to consolidate their slender lead in the Senate and get the House away from the Grand Old Party.
For the Democrats, it has been quite a challenge in the post-Sept. 11 terror attacks to set the agenda; and in many ways Mr. Daschle's criticism of the White House's economic policy and the President's response was the first serious attempt by Democrats to set eyes on the domestic arena after four months of focus on international terrorism, Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
International
|
