Press Releases
Pascrell Rejects Irresponsible Plan that Cripples the Economy
Washington, DC,
May 9, 2003
Tags:
Economy
U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson) cast a vote today in favor of working men and women and against an irresponsible tax plan that ignores the real needs of our current economy and mortgages tomorrow. "The 184,000 people with an average annual income of over $1 million in this country have cause for celebration today-and not because they're already rich," Pascrell said. "It's because the House just voted to reduce their taxes by $93,500 this year. How this will help the 2.7 million people who lost their jobs since the last big tax cut two years ago is beyond me." The centerpiece of the plan put forth by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is a cut in taxes on corporate dividends and capital gains. Economists agree that neither of these cuts are an effective way to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. "This bill is completely out of touch with the economic realities facing millions of average Americans. There's a reason over 400 economists, including 10 Nobel Laureates, are against it." "For the government to borrow money in order to pay for tax cuts is convoluted policy and simply does not make sense. This nation lost over 2,000 jobs alone in the four hours Congress debated this outrageous policy. This is unacceptable." The Republican plan--which passed by a vote of 222 to 203 gives approximately $44 billion next year to those making $374,000 or more next year. By contrast, the Republican budget provides $9.7 billion less that the amount promised in the bipartisan No Child Left Behind act for educating our children. Education is only one of the many casualties of these tax cuts. Virtually every area of the nation's budget, from job training and infrastructure to research and development, has been cut to make room for these tax cuts. Passage of this plan will contribute heavily to the massive debt that has been piling up since this Administration took office. The GOP tax package and the new budget combined will create a record $2 trillion deficit over 10 years, seriously threatening economic growth and levying an unconscionable burden on our children. ### |