TAX FAIRNESS
Friday, May 16, 2003
Co-Editors: Don Hazen and Lakshmi Chaudry, AlterNet
Subscribe online at:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/
CONTENTS:
1. Peter Schurman: Why Should We Care about Taxes?
2. Don Hazen: It's Still the Economy, Stupid
3. Bob Burnett: Actually, It's the Ideology
4. Fair Taxes for All: Quick Facts on the Tax Cuts
5. Kari Lydersen: Homecare Hurting for Funds
6. Bob Burnett: What is the War Going to Cost Us?
7. Chris Hartman and David Martin: More Bucks for the Bang
8. Julie Winokur: Live Sicker, Die Younger
9. Stan Cox: Withering Economy? Try Miracle-Growth!
10. Dean Baker: Why the Economy Will Go from Bad to Worse
11. About the Bulletin
------------------------------
WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT TAXES?
Taxes are part of the price we pay to live in America. If we are the
greatest country on Earth, as politicians enjoy describing us, then
surely that's worth something.
Nobody loves paying taxes, but we all rely on our fire departments and
public safety officers.
We all benefit from good schools, not just those of us who are
students, or who have kids. Schools are how we invest in our
community, at both local and national levels. Schools open the door
to career options for our neighbors, and provide skilled employees for
our local businesses and our national workforce. And perhaps most
importantly, they help develop an informed citizenry.
Everything we count on the government for -- keeping the air clean
enough to breathe, making sure our water is safe to drink, sparing
senior citizens a life-threatening choice between food and medicine,
responding to public health emergencies like SARS -- depends on tax
dollars.
Taxes are inevitable as long as we have a government. The only real
question is who pays. This week, that question has been the subject
of a raging debate on Capitol Hill. With the right wing in control
of the House and Senate, the trend, sadly, has been toward tax cuts
designed to help the very wealthy shirk their fair share of the burden.
That means the rest of us, who are less able to pay, will nonetheless
be stuck with a bigger chunk of the bill.
The articles in this week's bulletin explore the tradeoffs in the tax
debate, and highlight some key facts. For example, the tax and budget
cuts being considered would do almost nothing to stimulate the economy,
and could even weaken it further. And the cutbacks facing our schools
and other vital programs are not a byproduct of restraint, but are in
fact the ideological goal of many conservative lawmakers.
We hope you find this week's bulletin informative. Thanks for reading.
------------------------------
IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY, STUPID
------------------------------
ACTUALLY, IT'S THE IDEOLOGY
------------------------------
QUICK FACTS ON THE TAX CUTS
------------------------------
HOMECARE HURTING FOR FUNDS
------------------------------
WHAT IS THE WAR GOING TO COST US?
------------------------------
MORE BUCKS FOR THE BANG: CEO PAY AT DEFENSE CONTRACTORS
------------------------------
LIVE SICKER, DIE YOUNGER
------------------------------
WITHERING ECONOMY? TRY MIRACLE-GROWTH!
------------------------------
WHY THE ECONOMY WILL GO FROM BAD TO WORSE
------------------------------
ABOUT THE MOVEON BULLETIN AND MOVEON.ORG
MoveOn.org is an issue-oriented, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
that gives people a voice in shaping the laws that affect their lives.
MoveOn.org engages people in the civic process, using the Internet to
democratically determine a non-partisan agenda, raising public
awareness of pressing issues, and coordinating grassroots advocacy
campaigns to encourage sound public policies. You can help decide the
direction of MoveOn.org by participating in the discussion forum at:
MoveOn Bulletin Editorial
by Peter Schurman, Executive Director, MoveOn.org
Don Hazen, AlterNet
Bush is in similar straits as his dad was in 1992 -- soaring in polls
after a victorious war against Iraq but unable to effectively manage or
spark a recession-battered economy stuck in a "jobless recovery." But
where his "read my lips" father was famously forced to raise taxes, the
son is stubbornly sticking to an extreme conservative mantra: Spend
more money on the military while cutting taxes for the wealthy and
running a huge budget deficit. As this overview article shows, the only
accomplishment of President Bush's tax cut will be to stimulate more
economic inequality.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15917
Bob Burnett, AlterNet
Even Alan Greenspan and Bush's own appointees think this is the wrong
time for tax cuts. In fact, no reputable economist supports the
Administration's latest round of massive cuts. So why does the
President continue to push the plan? Because he believes social
programs should not exist. These cuts are a stealth initiative to
diminish government at all levels: education, healthcare, public
safety, aid to elderly and veterans, transportation and protection of
the environment.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15902
Fair Taxes For All
Got questions about President Bush's tax cut proposal? This fact sheet
shows how the president's plan reflects the wrong priorities and could
devastate the nation's ability to meet major challenges. For instance,
the Administration itself projects that, under its budget, the national
debt will climb to more than $5 trillion within five years -- at the
very same time the baby boomers begin retiring.
http://www.fairtaxes4all.org/facts/quickfacts.shtml
Kari Lydersen, AlterNet
Workers and recipients of Illinois' home healthcare system deal with
constant uncertainty and substandard living conditions because of
state and federal budget cuts. The system's constant battle for funds
is worsened by the Bush administration's economic policies, including
cuts in Medicaid and tax cuts for the wealthy that exacerbate state
budget crunches.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15901
Bob Burnett, AlterNet
The Bush Administration would have us believe that $100 billion in the
first year, and $286 billion over five years, is a small price to pay
for the liberation of Iraq, and an indeterminate modicum of safety from
terrorism. But, even for those of us jaded by annual budget deficits in
the $300 billion range, these are big numbers. Here the author shows
that invading and occupying Iraq could be a fiscally Pyrrhic victory
for Americans.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15807
Chris Hartman and David Martin, United for a Fair Economy
According to this striking new study, median CEO pay at the 37 largest
defense contractors rose 79 percent from 2001 to 2002, while overall
CEO pay climbed only six percent. Compared with an army private's pay
of $19,585, the average CEO at a major defense contractor made 577
times as much in 2002, or $11,297,548.
http://www.unitedforafaireconomy.org/press/2003/MoreBucksForBang_pr.html.
Julie Winokur, AlterNet
The United States prides itself on medical excellence, so why do we
also have one of the most dysfunctional healthcare systems in the
world? While politicians tiptoe around the problem, thousands of
Americans live sicker and die younger because they don't have access to
even basic care. According to the Institute of Medicine, some 18,000
people die prematurely every year as a result of being uninsured. If
that isn't an epidemic, then what is?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15913
Stan Cox, AlterNet
Our economic system is grounded in the fantasy that consumption can
grow forever and without limit, both in America and throughout the
planet. The author points out that we have already carried this
fantasy too far; and the result will be a much more troubling deficit
than the merely fiscal shortfalls that now plague our federal and
state governments.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15912
Dean Baker, In These Times
During the '90s boom, Dean Baker was one of the few economists who
clearly identified the stock market bubble. But no one in a position of
power was willing to listen, even though the main thrust of the
argument rested on basic arithmetic. Remarkably, the same "experts" who
led the nation into the bubble are still dominating public debate on
the economy. Baker explains how related bubbles in the property and
currency markets have yet to burst, and how that prospect could
severely hamper our quality of life for years to come.
http://inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=185_0_1_0_C
The MoveOn Bulletin is a free email bulletin providing information,
resources, news, and action ideas on important political issues. The
full text of the MoveOn Bulletin is online at
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/; you can subscribe to it at that
address. The MoveOn Bulletin is a project of MoveOn.org.
http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=223
