The Great Mirage

James Galbraith has written such an excellent article that I hate to attack his basic premise, namely, that George W. Bush’s only real economic accomplishment were his Tax Cuts. I attempt to keep my Writings articulate and clear, but I must use the appellation ‘Horsecrap’ on this one. The Bush Tax Cuts were nothing more or less than Government welfare for high-end, specialized labor and Wealth at the time, and continuing today, not reducing until they fade into the Sunset.

What economic impact did the Bush Tax Cuts produce?

It first insured there would be no restraint upon Those with the means to set their own Earnings: check the Salary and Benefit increases of CEOs, Fund managers, Doctors, Dentists, Accountants, Lawyers etc. Ask Somebody good with numbers to establish an Index of Income increases for all labor over the Bush years, so you can understand the true welfare benefits of the Bush Tax Cuts. The second major impact of the Cuts comes in the form of a shift in the Consumer markets, the upper 30% of Income Earners buy in luxury markets, but look for high value in their Purchases; luxury Retailers turn to foreign Suppliers faster than other Retailers, and rapidly increase the Trade Deficit in the search for Quality differentiated Product. Ordinary and Discount Retailers operationally lose the high-end of their Consumers, and think to increase their Market share with the supply of cheaper Product; they again turning to cheap foreign Production. The third impact of the Bush Tax Cuts consist of domestic Manufacturers' loss of Consumer share, not because of Production inefficiency, but by the accumulative impact of the three directional Trends cited above. Blue Collar and Middle-Rank skilled Labor found themselves inside a shrinking Labor market for their skills, and forced to shift to lower-paying alternate employment.

It is a profound wish on my part that Someone will one day realize the adverse consequences of the Bush economic policy. His shift to Government welfare for Wealth and Specialized Labor actually brought normal economic activity to an end; raising Health Care Costs, upper Management salaries, and suppressing the normal Labor market, all while creating an adverse National Debt, vastly increasing the Trade Deficit, and artificially suppressing the Wage rates of about 80% of the American Labor force. Do I sound unhappy? I am, basically because the vast majority of Economists still think the Bush Tax Cuts were of great benefit to the American economy. lgl