The Gavel: Congressional Republican Admits Bush Tax Cuts Will Increase the Debt

July 29th, 2010 by Karina

Congressional Republicans – eager to return to the “exact same agenda” of failed Bush economic policies that put us into this mess – continue to call for an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest few despite the staggering $678 billion cost to the deficit. This was after voting against tax cuts for small businesses and 98% of working families. 

Congressional Republicans have also made many false claims in their defense of the tax cuts for the wealthiest, saying everything from they ‘didn’t lead to the deficit‘ to ‘tax cuts increased revenue.’ This week, House Republican Leader John Boehner even claimed he didn’t know they were intentionally designed to kick their enormous cost down the road.


But, as Think Progress notes, yesterday morning on CSPAN’s Washington Journal, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) admitted that extending the deficit-exploding Bush tax cuts for the rich will increase the debt—countering the many false claims his fellow Congressional Republicans have made:

C-SPAN Host Steve Scully: “Tax cuts, do they increase the debt or do they spur economic growth?”

Congressman Devin Nunes: “Well, I think that they increase the debt.”

The impact of the Bush tax cuts, much of which go to the wealthiest few, that Congressional Republicans want to extend is shown in the chart below, with the Bush tax plan dwarfing other deficit-busters (followed by the costs of the Bush Recession):

If you look at the chart closely, it is clear the cost of the middle east wars are constant, but starting in 2005, the tax cuts greatest the biggest increase to the deficit. 

President Obama and Democrats in Congress are committed to fiscally responsible tax policies, including ensuring middle-class American families and small businesses continue to see tax relief, and have passed major legislation that actually reduces the deficit:

As Speaker Pelosi explained at her weekly press conference last week, “if we want to lower taxes for the middle class and reduce the deficit and create jobs, extending the tax cuts at the high end are not in furtherance of reaching those goals.” Others agree»

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