by James Ostrowski, Mises.org – 3/20/2001
President Bush has proposed a $1.6 trillion tax cut. I would like to suggest that the president modify his tax proposal. He should increase the size of his tax cut to $21 trillion.
Well, itรขโฌโขs not really a $21 trillion tax cut. Itรขโฌโขs a $2.1 trillion tax cut. I got the $21 trillion figure by projecting it for ten years, just as Bush does with his. I donรขโฌโขt know why Washington projects these tax cuts for ten years, since federal budgets are only good for one year and can be changed any time thereafter.
But, you say, isnรขโฌโขt $2.1 trillion the entire federal budget for one year? Right you are. Let me explain my proposal, using fourth-grade math. [Note: If the following figures are off by a couple billion bucks, blame the OMB press office for not returning my phone call.]
The feds are going to extort $2,084 billion from us this year. But they are only going to spend $1,868 billion. If we eliminate all overpayments, you have a $216 billion tax cut. Now, let me give you back $210 billion more, which is what we pay in interest to those who were silly enough to lend money to the government. This has a side benefit of discouraging anyone from lending to the government again, as well as encouraging sound fiscal policy in the future.
Total tax cut so farรขโฌโ$426 billion.
Letรขโฌโขs do some more easy tax cuts. Letรขโฌโขs eliminate a bunch of departments we could do without. In the name of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, I hereby abolish