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washingtonpost.com
Tax Revenue at 44-Year Low In Proportion to U.S. Economy
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 11, 2003; Page A12
The complete article may be purchased from the Washington Post
archives at-- http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/search.html?nav=left
Quote--
Federal tax receipts relative to the overall economy have reached their lowest level since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president,
while government spending has climbed to the highest point since Bill Clinton declared the era of big government over, according
to new figures released by the Congressional Budget Office. ...
Critics of the president's fiscal stewardship are not backing off. Bush's $1.7 trillion in tax cuts will really begin taking
a toll on government finances toward the end of the decade, when forecasters expect the economy to be rolling, said William
G. Gale, an economist at the Brookings Institution. By 2010, the tax cuts will account for nearly half the swing from government
surpluses once predicted to the deficits now expected.
And by then, the vanguard of Baby Boom retirees will have begun driving up Social Security and Medicare expenses by nearly
7 percent a year. ...
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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New York Times
The Sweet Spot
By PAUL KRUGMAN
The complete article is available for purchase from the New
York Times archives at-- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D1EFE3F5A0C748DDDA90994DB404482
Quote--
"What we have here is a form
of looting." So
says George Akerlof, a Nobel laureate in economics, of the Bush administration's budget policies — and he's right. With
startling speed, we've blown right through the usual concerns about budget deficits — about their effects on interest
rates and economic growth — and into a range where the very solvency of the federal government is at stake. Almost every
expert not on the administration's payroll now sees budget deficits equal to about a quarter of government spending for the
next decade, and getting worse after that. ...
George W. Bush is like a man who tells you that he's bought you a fancy new
TV set for Christmas, but neglects to tell you that he charged it to your credit card, and that while he was at it he also
used the card to buy some stuff for himself. Eventually, the bill will come due — and it will be your problem, not his.
...
© 2003 The New York Times Company
His
latest two articles are available printed in full, free of charge. Older articles, like the
one above, may be purchased online
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