Bush Offers Contradictory Argument On Taxes, Deficit (Dow Jones)

[Nambe]

http://www.international.nasdaq.com/asp/gmWorldNews.asp&headl">By Alex Keto, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

For the first time, President George W. Bush said Monday the three rounds of tax cuts he pushed through Congress helped to widen the federal government's deficits, but, paradoxically, he then argued these same tax cuts are boosting federal revenues. ..

Despite the role the tax cuts played in pushing the deficit higher, Bush said he continues to believe the tax cuts "are working and we don't need to run up taxes."

However a few minutes later, Bush revised his comments and said the tax cuts are boosting government revenues.

"The tax relief helped us generate more revenues," Bush said. He defended this stance by saying the economy is currently on an upswing.

"The economy is getting stronger. When the economy strengthens, more revenues come in," Bush said.

The president backed up his assertion by pointing to the latest budget forecasts which show the deficit narrowing somewhat.

In July, the Office of Management and Budget issued its updated forecast for the budget and predicted the fiscal year 2004 budget deficit will total $445 billion, down from its February projection that the deficit would be $521 billion.

Either figure would be a record deficit in absolute terms.


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[MidwestTransplant]

1. Ha. This must be at his Town Hall Meeting today!

Bush unplugged is something to behold!

[xxqqqzme]

4. b**h unplugged...

now that IS funny! MayB he can do an A&E special of greatest hits 'n we can call in for revisits of some of his best b**hisms; or maybe he could clarify some quotes, which would probably result in even crazier b**hisms. I'm likin' this.

[amandabeech]

10. He had a brief news conference with the Polish prime minister

this afternoon.

Bush looked pretty bad physically. The Town Hall obviously took too much energy for him.

[leftchick]

22. one can only imagine how he would look if....

He were forced in front of an independt/Democratic group at a "town hall" meeting. Instead of his hand picked group of "loyalty pledged" supporters. I dare say he would implode!

[kysrsoze]

20. He's a complete simpleton. I can't wait for the debates

I'm gonna have to record it so I can watch it again. I wonder how long it will take for the humor to wear off.

[jgardner]

2. He probably just didn't know the difference

between "revenue" and "deficit". Those are 3-syllable words, ya know.

[xxqqqzme]

3. Hey, what's 80 (+ or - a few)

billion among friends? yea....we're in great shape....we're in really good shape......yea, we're really, really, really doing well.

[denverbill]

5. They are such complete liars.

They projected a deficit of $400 billion last year, then upped the estimate to $500 billion just so they could claim the estimates were improving.

Why doesn't the press ever call them on this bullshit.

[w4rma]

6. He does what the ideologues and ultra-wealthy tell him and speaks in

code and feel-good phrases.

That's all he does. He has no comprehention of the policies he endorces, he just says what they tell him to say and does what they tell him to do and has the total lack of honor and ethics to do anything at all to keep power.

[Jacobin]

7. Digging up the discredited Supply Side Economics

and airing it out again.

Still smells the same. Stinky

[seasat]

8. The liars did the same thing the last fiscal year!

From Article:

"The president backed up his assertion by pointing to the latest budget forecasts which show the deficit narrowing somewhat.

In July, the Office of Management and Budget issued its updated forecast for the budget and predicted the fiscal year 2004 budget deficit will total $445 billion, down from its February projection that the deficit would be $521 billion."

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities pointed out last year that the OMB overestimated the projected deficit. The CBO and CBPP models predicted a lower deficit. That way Shrub could claim that the situation is improving. They are beating an inflated projection from the OMB. However they were close to the projections by the Congressional Budget Office and the independent CBPP.

[sundancekid]

19. brilliant follow-on analysis, seasat! thanks for the post ... for these

scumbags it's ALL ABOUT the set-up of expectations and then manipulation of the message ... but, you know what Dimson sayeth: fool me twice ... well, we won't be fooled again.

[cthrumatrix]

9. didn't the IRS come out and report lower Govt recepits for another

year.... how can he say something like this ?

It's factually wrong.....again.

[Cocoa]

11. this is some good reporting

Normally, it's only the foreign press that calls him on this stuff, which he does all the time.

[kwolf68]

12. Every day

This guy proves himself to be an even bigger idiot that I first imagined.

The brilliance of G.W. Bush isn’t in the sheer stupidity of the man. NO, the brilliance of G.W. Bush lay in the fact that just when the masses think he can achieve no higher level of stupidity he takes the world through his own self-made zeitgeist of buffoonery to places never before imagined.

Folks, we are witnessing genius.

[yardwork]

13. Props to Dow Jones Newswires for telling the truth

Good headline, too.

[Nambe]

14. AP forced shrubs millitary records out and went silent!

Reuters picked up the story and went silent. Now AFP is covering the Kerry campaign almost exclusivly. Either AP is waiting to drop a bomb on dimson closer to election time or a very powerful dark force has shut them up. These are very dangerous times for this country.

[truthisfreedom]

15. black is white! no, wait, it's grey! that's right! and up is down! i

mean sideways! didn't i just say sideways?

[Beetwasher]

16. A Major Flip Flop in the Span Of MINUTES!!!

Has to be record...

[DeepModem Mom]

21. Who's FLIP-FLOPPING now? What a dunce -- nt

[DFWJock]

17. Meanwhile...

Day is night.
Bad is good.
Up is down.

[radfringe]

18. texas tangle tongue syndrome

with this one you gotta read BOTH lips - as they flap in different directions at the same time, probably explains why he has difficulty speaking...