Is Congress Economically Illiterate?

quoted from AP

=====

WASHINGTON House Republicans are looking at delaying some federal spending
to offset the cost of rebuilding the Gulf Coast, a leading GOP fiscal
conservative said Sunday. Included are funds for a prescription drug
benefit under Medicare and thousands of highway projects.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said there is a need for dramatic spending cuts in
"big-ticket items."

But Democrats appearing on Sunday news programs questioned how President
George W. Bush can trim the budget to pay for Katrina recovery and support
tax cuts for the wealthy.

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The aversion to any and all tax increases makes no sense. Cutting thousands
of highway projects and the drug entitlement will hurt the economy far more
than a tax increase will. Granted, some of the highway projects are 'pork'
with dubious value; but when it is said that "thousands" of projects are on
the chopping block, many of them are good projects that are needed. Good
transportation projects help the economy twofold: one, they stimulate job
creation in construction and the supply chain and, two, they promote
mobility of goods and services for many years after completion. Much the
same can be said for the drug benefit -- it frees up some discretionary
spending among the elderly and it fosters drug profits, drug R&D, and so
on.

The cult of no tax, supply-side "economics" has gone too far.


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