Our Own Philosopher-King

By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Page A21

Editorial Link Here

Though his reelection campaign brilliantly marketed President Bush's anti-intellectualism, the truth is that his administration has trusted more to pure theory than virtually any modern president's. The Iraq war is a triumph of ideology over the facts on the ground (it's certainly not a triumph of anything else). And, as it's currently shaping up, Bush's second term looks to be even more theory-driven than his first.

Theory certainly is driving the administration's tax policies. In his first term, Bush took an ax to the taxes on dividends and mega-estates. In his second term, according to a story by The Post's Jonathan Weisman and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, the president is looking at eliminating taxes on dividends and capital gains and creating generous tax shelters for all investment income. The theory here is that investment, not labor, is the real creator of wealth -- so the taxes on investment income will be scrapped, while those on wages will keep rolling along.

And in the name of this theory, Bush seems willing to sacrifice much of the social compact that made America, in the second half of the 20th century, the first majority middle-class nation in human history.

See link for the rest...

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Read it and try to understand what this administration's "world view" means to you. If you are looking close enough, I think you will realize their myopic view doesn't include you. Doesn't anyone remember "Voodoo Economics"? Guess what, this is nothing more than 80's "supply-side" economics rehashed and repackaged. It didn't work then and it won't work now.