Extend or Repeal Bush Tax Cuts?

In today’s Albuquerque Journal, I am quoted on the issue of President Bush’s tax cuts and Congressional Democrats’ moves to raise taxes by allowing some or all of those cuts to expire. Simply put, as I’ve written before, the main issue is out-of-control spending, but raising taxes will not help our economy and is simply a cover for higher spending.

Left-wing New Mexico-based economist, Larry Waldman, senior research scientist at the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, is all for higher taxes. He “thinks wealthier Americans can afford to pay more taxes — and the cash-strapped federal government could use the money. It’s more of an equity issue than an economic issue,” Waldman said. “The rich are not suffering nearly as much as the middle and lower classes.” Waldman seems unconcerned about spending or the fact that higher taxes will stifle economic growth, thus harming the very middle and lower-income taxpayers he claims to defend.

Unfortunate advice in support of bigger government and reduced economic prosperity from a guy who is supposed to “contribute to the economic well-being of New Mexico residents.”