"Extending" Bush's tax cuts

Bush is proposing that his tax cuts be extended or made permanent. I sure hope the Democrats manage to frame the issue properly. Instead of debating whether to extend Bush's tax cuts the debate should be on whether Bush's free ride for the wealthy should be extended. For the past 5+ years, Bush has given the richest Americans a free ride. They have had their taxes reduced while everyone else continued to pay their normal share. The question now is whether we should continue to give Bush's rich friends that free ride or whether they should pay their fair share to support the country.

Bush's position is that giving the rich a free ride helps the economy. His temporary tax cuts were an experiment to see if that's he case — and it was his proposal to make them temporary. Well, we've seen how that experiment has worked out. Only the rich have seen significant improvements in their earnings; the federal government has run massive deficits.; and the economy is on the brink (or is already into) what looks like it will be the worst recession in years. Clearly this has been a failed experiment. It's time to stop it now — or at least to let it die when it runs out as Bush originally proposed. We certainly shouldn't make things worse by continuing something that has failed so dramatically.

We are looking at a $400+ billion deficit for this year — not counting the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan. (Who let's them get away with not counting it?) And Bush wants to give his rich friends a tax cut? Is he serious? Will the Democrats let him clam that not doing so is raising taxes? I sure hope not.