-Caveat Lector- Bush Pushes Tax Cut as Small-Business Aid
January 23, 2003 By ELISABETH BUMILLER ST. LOUIS, Jan. 22 - President Bush pushed his economic plan in an important political swing state today, saying it would benefit America's small-business owners and was not a giveaway to the rich. "Oh, sure, you hear the typical class warfare rhetoric, trying to pit one group of people against another," Mr. Bush said in a frigid warehouse of JS Logistics, a trucking company, where volunteers for the White House used white stickers to cover the "Made in China" stamps on stacks of cardboard boxes assembled for television cameras. "But lost in all the rhetoric," Mr. Bush said to the friendly crowd of invited small-business owners bundled up in fur and leather gloves, is that "small businesses pay taxes at the individual income tax rate, starting here with JS Logistics." The president spoke in front of a canvas backdrop printed with cardboard boxes, most of which were prominently stamped "Made in America." Mr. Bush said that his plan would help small business in two ways: by reducing personal income tax rates on small business owners who include their profits on their individual tax returns, and by tripling - to $75,000 - the amount that small businesses could write off for the purchase of new equipment. "The best way to encourage job growth is to let companies like JS keep more of their own money so they can invest in their business and make it easier for somebody to find work," Mr. Bush said to considerably stronger applause than the muted clapping that greeted his opening remarks threatening military action against Iraq. Mr. Bush's trip was the latest assault in an aggressive campaign to sell his $674 billion package of tax cuts and welfare benefits that he announced in Chicago this month. The plan has run into major objections from Republicans as well as Democrats in Congress. Administration officials acknowledge they have a difficult task in the months ahead. Mr. Bush focused today on promoting his plan to a politically potent group that is not usually associated with the richest Americans. A White House fact sheet supplied to reporters today said nearly 40 percent of small businesses are owned by women and close to 15 percent are owned by members of minorities. Small businesses employ more than half the private work force, the White House said, and create more than two out of every three new jobs. The president said that his economic plan would provide an average tax cut of $2,042 to 23 million small-business owners. "Now, some will say in Washington, of course, that's not much money," Mr. Bush said. "It's a lot of money to somebody who has got two employees. It's a lot of money to somebody making a decision whether or not to expand a business. It's a lot of money." The centerpiece of Mr. Bush's plan is the immediate elimination of taxes on stock dividends, a provision the administration says would put $364 billion in the hands of investors over the next decade. It is also the part of the plan that has attracted the most political fire, and Mr. Bush did not dwell on it today. Instead, he sounded favorite themes about the robust entrepreneurial spirit in America. "Look right around you, right here in JS," Mr. Bush said. "It's one of the things that makes us a great nation. There are thousands of Americans from all walks of life who are realizing their dream of owning their own business." Despite the day's planned focus on the economy, Mr. Bush opened his remarks with a lengthy and impassioned case for action against Saddam Hussein, making it sound as if war was imminent. Mr. Bush also threatened Iraq's generals and soldiers with trials for war crimes if they obeyed an order from Mr. Hussein to use weapons of mass destruction "on our troops or on innocent lives within Iraq." Before his speech, Mr. Bush met for 20 minutes with a group of 10 small-business owners and employees, now a standard for a Bush day trip. As is almost always the case, the remarks from the group were enthusiastically in support of the president. When Mr. Bush offered them highlights of his tax-cut package and said it would spur the economy, Greg Hantek, the co-owner of JS Logistics, responded, "It's kind of like preaching to the choir." Mr. Bush smiled and said, "Sometimes the choir needs redemption." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/politics/23BUSH.html?ex=1044349086&ei=1&en=0bf9c7f8f8f62c6c <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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