Ten Nobel Laureates and Hundreds of Economists Condemn White House Tax Cut Proposal
Interview with Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, conducted by Between The Lines'Scott Harris
Ten Nobel Laureates supported by more than 450 economists from across the country have publicly condemned the Bush administration's tax cut plan. At a Feb. 10 press conference in the nation's capital, these economists warned that congressional passage of $674 billion in tax cuts over 10 years advocated by President Bush will bring about fiscal deterioration and will "reduce the capacity of the government to finance Social Security and Medicare benefits as well as investments in schools, health, infrastructure and basic research. Moreover, they say, the proposed tax cuts will generate further inequalities in after-tax income."
The economists who gathered hundreds of signatures for their statement in only one week, pointed out in a full -page ad in the New York Times Feb. 11, that the dividend tax cut and other features of the White House proposal will constitute a "permanent change in the tax structure and not the creation of jobs and growth in the near-term."
Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, the group which coordinated the joint statement. Mishel explains why so many influential economists have come out to denounce the president's tax cut plan as the wrong approach.
Contact the Economic Policy Institute by calling (202) 775-8810 or visit their Web site at: www.epinet.org
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