Lately, I have been getting a little more than the usual static from the luminaries of the liberal left on the economy and from whence our current economic woes have come.  To set the record straight, here is a little clarity on three points:

I.  Liberal Canard Number One: The Bush tax cuts were bad for America

First, only a liberal, or a deranged person, would argue that cutting taxes somehow hurts Americans.  The misconception spread by leftists that the Bush tax cuts caused the federal deficit problems of today (as opposed to wanton government spending) is a prevarication that only the mind of Nancy Pelosi could invent.  In point of fact, the Bush tax cuts actually increased government revenue.  It is established fiscal science that tax revenues depend not only on the tax rate, but on the tax base.  If the tax base is shrinking, then it doesn’t matter what the tax rate is; tax revenue will be anemic.  The tax base expands only when taxable behavior is encouraged (as opposed to discouraged.)   Raising tax rates discourages taxable behavior and therefore shrinks the tax base, offsetting whatever revenue gains might occur by raising rates.  On the other hand, lowering tax rates encourages taxable behavior and expands the tax base, offsetting any revenue losses as a result of the lower rates.  Of course, I wouldn’t expect a liberal to understand this because it is all common sense.  But don’t take my word for it, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) tax revenues in 2006 (after the Bush tax cuts had taken effect) were actually $47 billion above what the CBO had projected before the tax cuts were implemented. Clearly, common sense works in the real world as well.  For more, see: 

www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/lying_about_bushs_tax_cuts.html

II. Liberal Canard Number Two:  Bush is to blame for the current size of the federal budget deficit

Liberals like to refer to the 2008 Bush-Paulson bailout of Wall Street banks when they really should be talking about the Bush-Paulson-Obama-Geithner bailout of 2008. As we will recall, Obama gave his full throated support for the bailout during the campaign, and tax cheat Tim Geithner was actually instrumental in crafting that bailout in his role as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  And now, it seems, he and Obama can’t wait to do more.  And by more, I mean add another one trillion onto Bush’s $700 billion (and this doesn’t even include what he wants to spend on healthcare!)  Again, don’t take my word for it, click on the link below for a full exposition of the Bush vs. Obama deficit comparison. 

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/

III. Liberal Canard Number Three:  Bush and his failed Iraq War policies are the cause of all our present econoomic woes

With regard to Iraq, after the attacks of 9-11 America found herself at war and we are still at war today.  One would think this to be self-evident, but with liberals you never know.  Wars cost money (another axiom), but further, this was (and is) a first-of-its-kind war to be waged on many fronts.  While it can be argued whether invading Iraq when we did was truly a necessary component of the war, it cannot be denied that Bush kept the country safe for eight years.

Finally, liberals need to stop obsessively blaming Bush for everything under the sun, moon and stars.  The problems of present-day America belong to the present administration under the jurisdiction of Mr. Obama.  In the psychobabble that liberals are so fond of, he needs to start owning them.  You can’t begin to fix a problem until you first admit you have one.