Semi-Daily Journal Archive

The Blogspot archive of the weblog of J. Bradford DeLong, Professor of Economics and Chair of the PEIS major at U.C. Berkeley, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Should Bush Abandon His Tax Cuts?

Should Bush have the political courage to abandon large chunks of his tax cut now that it has turned out to generate substantial deficits?

2003-2004 Bush CEA Chair N. Gregory Mankiw says yes, and that a good president would have the political courage to do so--or at least Greg Mankiw said yes, back in 2000:

But the $2 trillion [projected 2001-2010 budget] surplus is not exactly money in the bank.... So should the next President aim to enact a tax cut, and if so, what size? This question will dominate the presidential campaign. But it's not a very relevant one. More vital than choosing a President with the right tax plan is electing a President with the political courage to change course when events demand it... --N. Gregory Mankiw, Fortune, 3/20/00

Couldn't have said it better myself. The changed circumstances--our large current deficits--make abandonment of the tax cut wise policy. Presidents and economic advisers do need a lot of political courage to admit this, however. :-)

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