Krugman Nails It.

Oct. 1st, 2010


The so-called "W" tax cuts weren't just brazenly wrongheaded, they were cynically enacted as well. Paul Krugman lays it out flat:


"...back in 2001, the Bush administration bundled huge tax cuts for wealthy Americans with much smaller tax cuts for the middle class, then pretended that it was mainly offering tax breaks to ordinary families. Meanwhile, it circumvented Senate rules intended to prevent irresponsible fiscal actions — rules that would have forced it to find spending cuts to offset its $1.3 trillion tax cut — by putting an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2010, on the whole bill."

In this era of failed job creation, the republicans are trying to frame an extension of the cuts to the very rich as an essential to reverse the trend. 


This is ridiculous. 


The jobs creation machine that was once our economy collapsed under George W. Bush. It did so in spite of the very policies that are now being touted as as panacea by the right. 


During George W. Bush's 8 years, a total of 3 new million jobs were created. How bad does that suck? Well, Under Jimmy Carter, 10.5 million jobs were added and that was a one term presidency. Also, there were roughly 80 million fewer American's at the end of Carter's term than there are now. Job expansion as influenced by these tax policies was the smallest per capita on record.