A Yuletide Apocalypse

And more…

The Republican Agenda for 2006: Tax Cuts for a Favored Few - New York Times:

The bill, which was passed yesterday by the House and is expected to clear the Senate as early as today, has two main provisions. The first, and dearest to the hearts of President Bush and his allies in Congress, is an extension of the temporary low tax rates on investment income. The top 10 percent of income earners will get almost all of the benefits, and everyone else will get crumbs. To justify the giveaway, President Bush and Congressional Republicans insist that tax cuts for investors benefit everyone %u2014 and pay for themselves %u2014 by stimulating economic growth. That assertion is seriously delusional. Economic theory suggests that a fraction of the tax cuts’ cost could, perhaps, be offset by higher growth, all other things being equal. But when a nation must borrow to pay for tax breaks, as is the case in the United States today, any ability of tax cuts for investors to spur growth is severely diminished.

(Via .)