Do Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Stimulate Employment?
By Robert H. Frank NY Times 7/7/05 The centerpiece of the Bush administration’s economic policy has been large federal income tax cuts aimed mainly at top earners. These tax cuts account for much of the $2 trillion increase in the national debt projected to occur during the Bush presidency. They prompted a large group of Nobel laureates in economics to issue a statement last year condemning the administration’s “reckless and extreme course that endangers the long-term economic health of our nation.” The question of whether to make the tax cuts permanent is still on the Congressional agenda. So it is an opportune moment to examine the president’s argument in support of them. Mr. Bush never pretended that the tax cuts were needed to make life more comfortable for the well to do. After all, with the bulk of all pretax income gains having gone to top earners in recent years, this group has prospered as never before. Rather, the president portrayed his tax cuts as the linchpin of his econom
