President’s Expected Push to Make Tax Cuts Permanent is Irresponsible Fiscal and Economic Policy

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Aviva Aron-Dine

Research Area: US Fiscal Future

Keywords: Economic projections; Tax code; Economic inequality; Fiscal future

Type: Report

Abstract:

In recent weeks, Administration officials have offered three major arguments for this policy--(1) the tax cuts yielded strong economic growth over the past few years, (2) extending them would help the economy overcome its current weakness, and (3) extending them would improve the economy’s performance over the long run.  None of these claims bears up well under scrutiny.