Keith Devens .com

And his father George H.W. and him, and lets not forget Dick Cheney either.

That's a bit too flippant on Bush's part, he admits that the tax system can be exploited by people like him instead of actually trying to do something about it.

While you believe Bush is the best thing since bread, old school conservatives appear to be less convinced.

http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.asp?id=300

That's a bit too flippant on Bush's part, he admits that the tax system can be exploited by people like him instead of actually trying to do something about it.

Well, this quote was said as part of him promising to help close those loopholes. Whether he actually does so we'll have to see.

Oops, no it wasn't. The statement I was thinking of was quoted right next to where I found that quote, but was said by Bush back in April.

Well, this quote was said as part of him promising to help close those loopholes. Whether he actually does so we'll have to see.

Uhm... so he promised to close those loopholes in April, but doesn't his more recent quote imply that he doesn't think it's a worthy aim anymore, since rich people dodge taxes anyway? Does that mean he gave up on that issue? Me confused, those two quotes do not seem very consistent to each other (flip-flop), but hey, every politican caters to his current audience and feeds them what they want to hear. I think it was Adenauer who got the quote "I don't care what I said yesterday!" attributed to. Seems like a universal principle at work.

I know you'd love to characterize Bush as a flip-flopper, but that's not justified here. This is from the article:

Bush criticized Kerry's plan to eliminate the tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 a year, saying that the "the rich in America happen to be the small business owners" who put people to work.

Bush also said high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy because "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway."

And this is from what he said in April:

Let me talk about one other way to make sure the economic environment in both urban and rural American remains conducive to job growth and vitality, and that is the tax code has got to be fair. And in my budget, I proposed a 10.7 percent increase to make sure that tax cheaters are found, make sure the IRS gets after those who don't pay taxes; make sure that the system is fair for those of us who do pay taxes. We want everybody paying their fair share. If I'm going to pay it, I want somebody else to pay it, too, if they're obligated to pay. And that's why we expect the IRS to be tough. And they need the resources necessary to do so, and we'll provide them.

So, he's arguing that raising taxes on "the rich" is not the way to go because they dodge taxes anyway, and he wants existing taxes to be enforced and not dodged, and -- presumably, to facilitate this -- loopholes closed (plus, simplifying the tax code has long been a part of the Republican agenda). How is this a flip flop?

Uhm... so he promised to close those loopholes in April, but doesn't his more recent quote imply that he doesn't think it's a worthy aim anymore, since rich people dodge taxes anyway?

That's a real stretch, Ben. Closing loopholes is a way to make sure people can't dodge their taxes. They go together. The fact that the rich dodge their taxes is a reason to close loopholes, not a reason not to.