Hightower Lowdown

George W. is at it again,
promising everyone a
seven-course dinner in the
form of a magic tax cut. But,
while wealthy Americans
truly would feast on Bush’s
$1.6 trillion tax-whack, the
meal for the vast majority of
us will turn out to be a possum
and a six pack.
Meanwhile, things we
really need—like universal
health care—will go begging
because Bush will say with a
shrug, “The money is just
not there.” This is a shell
game he practiced as governor
of Texas. In 1997 and
1999, he backed massive
tax cuts for business and
homeowners, declaring that
“everyone” would benefit.
Those who don’t own a
home, of course, were left
out entirely, but even homeowners
soon learned that
the tax cut was a fraud. Yes,
a billion bucks a year were
allocated to school districts
to allow them to lower property
taxes. But Bush backed
other legislation requiring
schools to undertake new
tasks, and all the while
school enrollments were
skyrocketing. Very few districts
could cut their tax
assessments at all. Most
Texans got a school-tax
increase under George W.
Bush left Texas in a fiscal
mess. The money he shifted
to school districts and the
real tax breaks he gave to
corporations have taken $2.5
billion out of the state budget.
This year, teachers desperately
need an affordable
health plan, but it would cost
$2 billion—so Bush conservatives
shrug and say, “The
money is just not there.”