The economy of the United States has been on a roll for two solid years now, with growth steady at 4%, home ownership near an all-time high (and well beyond any previous numbers for African-Americans), taxes relatively low, and unemployment sitting at 4.9%--a very low number by historical standards (lower than the average rate of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s), and almost nonexistent in comparison to European titans France (over 15%) and Germany (12.9%). While appearing as a guest Friday on the Michael Medved radio show out of Seattle, Treasury Secretary John Snow cited lower individual income tax rates and lower capital gains taxes for the steady economic growth, and urged President Bush to keep America's economy strong by avoiding the call from Democrats for tax increases, saying that "that's ... the worst thing that I could imagine doing at this time." He reported that the administration would continue to fight tax increases, and to make the 2001 reductions a "permanent part of the economic landscape of this country."
Regarding the 2006 budget proposal about to be unveiled by President Bush, Secretary Snow said spending will be "tightly controlled," promising the "tightest constriction, restraint, and limit on spending in modern times." Snow also cited unforeseen events such as hurricane Katrina as factors in a growing deficit which had been "coming under control" in the past two years, and said that, while the deficit will grow slightly in 2006 as President Bush fulfills his financial commitment to the areas hit by the hurricane, it will soon be "back on a path to better the President's goal of cutting the deficit in half by the time he leaves office."
President Bush also said this week that he is not giving up on Social Security reform, and Secretary Snow hinted that this "third rail" of politics may be broached once again in the State of the Union address January 31.
http://www.michaelmedved.com
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