http://www.bushtax.com/
The Bush Tax: How Much Is It Costing You?
Rather than take responsibility for our common future, Bush
has shifted costs to states and communities, who then pass
them on to you. Across the country, people are seeing their
property taxes skyrocket. State college tuition at 4-year
schools has increased this year by an average of $579
nationwide. Half a million children have been deprived of
health coverage. States and local government have cut
vital services, and we’re all having to pay more for less.
That’s the Bush Tax.
Bush is largely to blame for the fiscal crisis that has forced
states and communities to raise taxes and slash services.
According to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities (CBPP), “A conservative estimate suggests that
federal policies are costing states and localities about
$185 billion over the four-year course of the state fiscal
crisis.” Bush has shifted health costs to states and forced
states to pay for unfunded mandates for homeland security,
election reform, and No Child Left Behind. As a result,
states and communities have had no choice but to raise
taxes and cut services. That’s the Bush Tax. (For details,
see the link below to the CBPP report.)
Our children and grandchildren will be paying the Bush Tax.
Bush promised, I came to this office to solve problems and
not pass them on to future presidents and future
generations." Yet as a direct consequence of his tax policy,
over six years an American family of four will take on
$52,000 more in its share of the national debt. That’s the
Bush Tax.
How is Bush paying for his tax cuts? To pay for his tax
program, Bush raided Social Security Trust Funds and made
off with $500 billion, eroding our protections for the elderly.
Then he borrowed another $500 billion from foreigners,
putting our future in their hands. For every $100 you got
back in tax cuts, $40 was borrowed from foreigners, $20
was borrowed from Americans, and $40 was taken from
Social Security.
The Bush Tax is huge – many times greater than most
people’s income tax cut under Bush. For the bottom 60
percent of Americans, the average tax cut was just $304.
The median tax cut for all Americans was only $470. In
contrast, the average tax cut for those making over
$1 million a year was $112,925.
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Sources:
What Tax Cut? States Are Using Higher Taxes and Fees to
Take Back What Uncle Sam is Giving Away,U.S. News &
World Report, 2/2/04
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040202/biztech/2states.htm
“Federal Policies Contribute to the Severity of the State
Fiscal Crisis,”Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
12/3/03
http://www.cbpp.org/10-17-03sfp.htm
"Decline in Federal Grants Will Put Additional Squeeze on
State and Local Budgets," Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, 2/3/04
http://www.cbpp.org/2-3-04sfp.htm
"Up to 1.6 Million Low-Income People - Including About
Half a Million Children - Are Losing Health Coverage Due
to State Budget Cuts," Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, 12/22/03
http://www.cbpp.org/12-22-03health-pr.htm
"Trends in College Pricing 2003," College Board, 10/21/03
http://www.cbpp.org/12-22-03health-pr.htm
"We're Paying Dearly for Bush's Tax Cuts," Citizens for Tax
Justice, 9/23/03
http://www.ctj.org/pdf/debt0903.pdf
"State Budget Deficits Projected for Fiscal Year 2005,"
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/30/04
http://www.cbpp.org/10-22-03sfp2.htm
Figures on the incidence of the Bush tax cuts were
provided by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Figures showing that national debt owed to foreigners
have increased from $1 trllion in January 2001 to $1.5
trillion currently are from the U.S. Treasury International
Capital System website.
http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/
Figures showing that the total assets of the Social Security
Trust Funds borrowed by the federal government have
increased from $1 trillion in January 2001 to $1.5 trillion
currently are from Social Security Online.
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/fundsQuery.html
Figures showing the $1.3 trillion increase in the national
debt under Bush are from the U.S. Bureau of the Public Debt.
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm
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