Bush’s economic policies have been a sterling success that have put the country on the path to long-term growth. Simultaneously, long-term growth looks precarious, so we better embrace Bush’s economic policies. These are the kinds of valuable insights one picked up watching the White House “economic summit” this week.
Throughout a two-day conference on the economy, President Bush and his allies extolled the virtues of his tax cuts and “pro-growth” policies, which they said have lifted the nation from recession and propelled it well above its international economic competitors. If Washington adheres to the path of fiscal restraint while following the president’s tax prescriptions, it was suggested, policymakers could secure powerful economic growth far into the future.
Yet when the subject turned to the nation’s legal or Social Security systems, the picture grew suddenly dark. Frivolous lawsuits have hobbled America’s businesses and have put them at the mercy of their enlightened overseas competition, administration officials said. As for federal entitlements, a rising tide of retiring baby boomers will inevitably slow economic growth and bankrupt Social Security.
“The crisis is now,” Bush warned in his closing speech.
Well, Bush White House, which is it? It can’t be both.
As the Washington Post’s Jonathan Weisman noticed, it was one of several contradictions that “emerged repeatedly” throughout this ridiculous theatrical charade.
* Bush’s tax cuts have produced strong growth for the future … but strong growth in the future is dependent on Bush’s plans for rewriting the tax code.
* Bush’s policies are helping the U.S. to far exceed Europe’s and Japan’s economies … but we won’t be able to compete with Europe and Japan unless we pass “tort reform.”
* Long-term projections show strong growth and high wages in the future … but long-term projections show weak growth so we have to phase out Social Security.
Henry J. Aaron, an economist at the Brookings Institution, said the president has proven to be deft at changing the justifications for his policies, whether it was war with Iraq or tax cuts. He will have to be even more flexible in his second term, Aaron concluded.
“The administration is trying to put the best face it can on each of these policies,” Aaron said. “The inconsistencies are unavoidable.”
And, in Bush’s America, inconsistencies are no longer relevant. After all, we’re dealing with a team that creates its own reality…