Notes About Washington 1/10

Deficit predictions get larger.

President Bush's 10-year, $674 billion economic growth package -- coupled with a war with Iraq -- would push the federal budget deficit well into record territory next year, and possibly as high as $350 billion, private-sector budget forecasters said yesterday.

Measured against the size of the economy, a $350 billion deficit would still be smaller than the deficits of the late 1980s and early 1990s. But in sheer dollar terms, it would easily eclipse the $290 billion record set in 1992, the last year of George H.W. Bush's administration. It also would be a steep fall from the record $236 billion surplus of 2000.

Looks like Dubya is trying to beat daddy's record! Some people believe that the White House is understating the actualy size of the relief for the wealthy given by the capitalgains tax elimination.

[David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's DRI] believes the White House has understated its dividend tax proposal by as much as 50 percent, because administration forecasters have not sufficiently accounted for the cost of one obscure provision that effectively grants a capital gains tax cut when investors sell stock in companies that elect not to pay dividends.

 

Not all Republicans are happy with Bush's proposal.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME),  Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), and George Voinovich (R-OH) may not support the plan. They have openly criticized the plan.

Sen. Chafee said he'll vote against the package, joining at least four other GOP senators who hinted Bush's plan needs changes to win their votes.

"My fears have been borne out," said Chafee, who voted against Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001 because he feared it would bust the federal budget. "I can't see giving away any more of our revenues, which we're doing in tax cuts."

Sen. Collins said "I would like to see further tax cuts targeted toward middle- to lower-income taxpayers who would be likely to put the money back into the economy."

[Update 1/11] Another Republican critical of the plan.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said yesterday, "we may not be able to sell it."

Grassley, whose committee handles tax legislation, raised the prospect that Bush's proposal to repeal the dividend tax could be dropped altogether. "We should sell the whole thing or not at all," he said, suggesting that other forms of tax cuts might be more achievable. "It would be easier to do something on capital gains than on double taxation of dividends," he said.

We may not be completely scewed just yet. Hopefully.

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Finding lost Beatles tapes: Priceless!

Police in Holland seem to have recovered the lost "Get Back" session master recordings. Five people in Holland and England were arrested. The recovery and the arrests were a product of a joint investigation by the City of London Police and the Dutch Police.

The "Get Back" sessions were recorded after the "White Album," and were supposed to be a return to a "back-to-the-basics" style of recording. The project was abandoned, and later some of the songs ended up on the "Let it Be" album. The tapes disappeared and have not been seen since 1969.

The Beatles, not the Beetles, circa 1969.

This is a great find for all serious Beatles fans. There are complete songs on the tapes that have never been released, other than some bootlegs that have surfaced in Europe.

More at Sky News and E! Online.

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J. C. Adams has shot and killed a robber for the second time in three years.

"Go to work and make your own money. Quit trying to take mine."

Needless to say, J. C. does not like others taking his money. In May of 2000 he was injured by the man he shot and killed during an attempted robbery. This time he faired better. He was uninjured. His two would be robbers were not as lucky. One was killed, the other wounded. Do you think J. C. is a lean, mean fighting machine?

The Korean War veteran grabbed his 12-gauge shotgun with one hand. Using his other to guide his walker, he walked to the front of the store and fired a single shot.

Yes, supporting himself with his walker, he took out two would be robbers. He may be 74-years-old, but I am not going to mess with him.

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