For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810
The Bush tax cuts: ten years later, still expensive and ineffective
June 7 marks the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the first round of Bush tax cuts. In a new Policy Memo, Tenth Anniversary of the Bush-Era Tax Cuts: A decade later, the Bush tax cuts remain expensive, ineffective, and unfair, EPI policy analysts Andrew Fieldhouse and Ethan Pollack provide a comprehensive look at the effect of the Bush tax cuts on the U.S. economy. The Policy Memo is a resource that explains that the Bush tax cuts:
- disproportionately benefited the wealthy;
- did little for low-income families;
- never trickled down;
- were a poorly designed economic stimulus;
- failed to create strong long-run growth;
- were so expensive that they added greatly to the debt;
- were much more expensive than advertised;
- continue to be expensive;
- eliminated the most progressive federal tax: taxes on large estates; and
- are increasing interest spending today.