Tax Cut Strategy: Congress should help Katrina victims first

Dallas Morning News | Editorials:

"Just as Congress needs to show how it would pay for spending increases, it also needs to offset tax reductions. Otherwise, we risk adding mountains of debt onto today's third- and fourth-graders, who eventually will have to pay for our budget excesses. Many Americans plan wisely for their heirs; they want to see Congress do the same."

The DMN's call for paying for tax cuts is fiscally responsible. Therefore, don't expect it to be championed by this administration. Vice President Dick Cheney famously told Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill "Reagan proved deficits don't matter. We won the (2002) midterms. This is our due." Ever since, it's been impossible for this administration to lay any claim to fiscal responsibility. Whether the House, or more likely, the Senate, will acquire some fiscal responsibility before the 2006 midterms depends on the mood of American voters. Let's hope that, collectively, Americans demand that Congress start planning wisely for our heirs.