Have we Learned Absolutely Nada in the Past Ten Years?

10 years on, the Bush tax cuts are a disaster—and we’re contemplating more tax breaks for the wealthy. How can we stop the madness?

GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty observed the 10th anniversary of the Bush-era tax cuts by proposing $2 trillion in additional tax cuts, primarily for millionaires and global corporations.

Have we learned nothing?

A decade since its passage, its clear that the Bush tax-cut was a $2.5 trillion mistake that put us on the road to fiscal instability.

At the time they were passed, Congressional budget analysts projected a $5.6 trillion surplus over these last ten years. But even after the rosy projections turned to red ink, the tax cut bonanza continued. As a result, Congress engaged in a “decade of magical tax cut thinking,” responding to the deep economic challenges of the last ten years with a one-point program: cut taxes for the wealthy and expand tax loopholes for global corporations.