The White House on Taxes and the Budget – a Brief History

Here’s a short collection of White House quotes on taxes and the budget – one for each year of the Bush Administration.

2001. From the President’s Blueprint, Feb 28, 2001:

The President’s plan will accelerate this trend to record rates by retiring an historic $2 trillion in debt over the next 10 years. Under the President’s budget, the national debt will be only seven percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011, its lowest share in more than 80 years.

2002. From a White House Economic Fact sheet, June 7, 2002:

The War and Recession — Not the Tax Cuts — Drained the Budget Surplus

2003. White House Fact Sheet, Feb 3, 2003

The budget would be in double digit deficit if had there never been a tax cut in 2001.

2004. GW’s SOTU, Jan 20, 2004:

By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years.

2005. White House Fact Sheet, Oct 11, 2005

Today, President Bush Announced That The Deficit Has Been Cut In Half 3 Years Ahead Of His 2009 Goal And That The FY2006 Budget Deficit Was $248 Billion.

2006. GW Bush, Oct 11, 2006

Tax relief fuels economic growth, and growth — when the economy grows, more tax revenues come to Washington. And that’s what’s happened. It makes sense, doesn’t it? As businesses expand people pay more taxes, and when you pay more taxes, there’s more revenues that come to our treasury.

2007. White House Fact Sheet, July 19, 2007

Following The Path Of President Bush’s FY 2008 Budget Would Lead To A Budget Surplus In 2012 Of $33 Billion. President Bush’s FY 2008 Budget lays out a detailed plan to balance the budget in the next five years while keeping taxes low. It keeps annual spending under control and addresses our long-term budgetary challenge – the unsustainable growth in entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

2008. See 3.

2009. GW, in an interview with a Fox News anchor:

Raising taxes is a very irresponsible move by the President. It’s going to raise the deficit.