Getting to the Root of Bush’s Policies

Re “A Tax Cut Rooted in the Bush Pedigree,” by Kevin Phillips, Opinion, Jan. 12: Why is anyone surprised that President Bush is proposing even more tax breaks that primarily benefit himself? Virtually everything he has done has been for that effect. From trying to drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness, to his first tax cut for the very wealthy, to sabotaging the historic Kyoto accord, to trying to control more Middle East oil by starting a war, the only common thread is that it all builds his personal wealth.

This is by far the greediest president we have had, who seems not to care the slightest about the country, but only what is good financially for W.

Steve Dillow

Torrance

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Phillips states that George W. is acting like his father with his tax plan. Besides being exceedingly tendentious, Phillips is flat-out wrong with the record. The first Bush raised taxes, and a borderline economy quickly tanked. He may have talked about lowering taxes, but his actions were quite the contrary. As always, Phillips will not let inconvenient facts get in the way of a good story.

Kevin Moore

Westlake Village

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What I fervently hope a majority of Congress will say to the president’s so-called economic stimulus plan: “Read our lips, no new tax breaks for the top 1%!”

Leo Kretzner

Claremont

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Bush and his administration seem to love the rhetoric of war and the idea of the average. War on terrorism, war on Iraq, fighting a war on two fronts, etc. Now they’ve introduced the term “class warfare” into the tax debate, as exemplified by Michael Ramirez’s Jan. 11 cartoon.

If Democrats are practicing class warfare, maybe it’s because the Republican Party has been practicing class preference. In touting the tax cut, Bush talks about the benefits to the average American family. But in truth, the benefits of the Bush tax package would be maldistributed, just as health care is at present. So while the averages might look attractive to the average American, losers are left even further behind those who would benefit most.

Julian Roberts

Redlands