Bush Urged to Put Taxes First

And they’re even getting some encouragement from liberal Democrats who realize that the slowing economy may very well need a tax cut as a shot in the arm.

Former Rep. Jack Kemp, who heads Empower America, and whose Kemp-Roth tax cut ideas helped to energize the economy 20 years ago in the early days of the Reagan administration, gave the coalition his blessing Thursday. He urged giving the economy the boost it needs by letting Americans have the tax cuts they want. The slowing economy should persuade the doubters, he said.

Danielle Morris, deputy director of tax and budget for Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), told NewsMax.com that if there is a Bush administration, as seems increasingly likely, it means that this time there is no veto threat hanging over eliminating or curtailing the marriage penalty or the death tax, two measures that would be dead today were it not for President Clinton’s veto.

This time there have been indications of some support on these issues from none other than Rep. Charles Rangel, D.-N.Y., ranking Democrat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

The fact that so prominent a Democrat has expressed a willingness to compromise is indicative of President Clinton’s status as a lame duck.

James Miller, counsel to Citizens for a Sound Economy, was given encouragement by Rep. James Moran, D-Va., just before entering the news conference room on the House side of the Capitol. Miller, the one-time budget director in the Reagan administration, said this was one indication of a willingness of Democrats to compromise on their previous opposition to tax cuts.

But Morris, the CSE tax specialist, emphasized that any compromise on tax cuts would not mean "giving up our principles" or too much ground because "the American public is on our side."

As for Democrats who can help the effort, she cited the Blue Dog "moderate" Democrats in the House and "the Ralph Halls." Hall, D-Texas, may be the last of the truly conservative Democrats, mostly from south of the Mason-Dixon line, who were a force one or two generations ago.

This is a grassroots movement, she said, not something that comes out of the halls of power in Washington, D.C.

Morris says that as soon as the marriage penalty and death taxes are dealt with, right behind that will be George W. Bush’s across-the-board tax cuts, as Bush repeatedly said during the campaign, "for every American who pays taxes."

CSE favors the flat tax. Others in the coalition favor a sales tax. Still others place their emphasis on cutting taxes under the present code. Some want to scrap the code. Then there are those who focus on curbing the arbitrary powers of the IRS.

All of them have a fundamental view in common: a belief in the old adage that the power to tax is the power to destroy and that freedom flourishes best when that awesome power is reined in.

Among the broad range of groups represented at the news conference, in addition to CSE and Empower America, were Coalition for Fundamental Reform, Heritage Foundation, 60 Plus Association, National Small Business United, Savings Coalition of America, Citizens Against Government Waste, National Taxpayers Union, Citizens for an Alternative Tax System, American for Fair Taxation, National Retail Sales Tax Alliance, Club for Growth, Associated General Contractors of America, Independent Women’s Forum, and Small Business Survival Committee.

Members of Congress supporting tax reform also participated.

All of which would indicate the tax cutters are giving a push to the national climate that a President Bush will need as he sets about enunciating his priorities.