Kansas City, Mo. (Sept. 5, 2003) -- In a visit to the “show me” state Thursday, President Bush claimed the tax cuts he pushed through the past two years are responsible for “signs of promise” in the U.S. economy.
He also took a swipe at his Democrat challengers for the presidency in 2004, many of whom have claimed the tax cuts helped mainly the wealthy, haven’t done much to fuel the economy, and allowed the deficit to balloon to $500 billion.
"They argue we should return to the way things were in 2001. What they're really saying is they want to raise taxes," Bush said in a speech at the Kansas City Convention Center. "Higher taxes will not create one job in America. Raising taxes would hurt economic growth. Tax relief has put this nation on the path of prosperity, and I intend to keep it on the path to prosperity."
Bush has blamed the country’s economic woes on the stock market collapse that began in 2000, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the corporate accounting scandals that shook Wall Street. He said the tax cuts his administration pushed through Congress earlier this year have kept the recession from being longer and deeper.
He again called on Congress to pass several White House proposals that have stalled on Capitol Hill, including a $3.6 billion proposal for "re-employment accounts" to help 1 million Americans find work. The money could be used to pay day care or moving expenses or to help retrain workers, and people who find work quickly could keep the balance of the account.
-- WebCPA staff
