Arguing Our Tax Future

The future of American taxes, and who will pay in the age of epic deficits and rough economy.

George W. Bush pushed through tax cuts nearly a decade ago with an expiration date so they wouldn’t be counted in deficit projections. At the end of this year, those cuts expire unless extended.

The deficit is vast. And millions of unemployed need help.

So, should tax rates go back up for the affluent, as the Obama administration proposes? Or be extended and stay cut, as Republicans argue? What’s right for the economy? The deficit? The whole country?

This Hour, On Point: the future of American taxes, in the age of super deficit and recession.

Guests:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office from 2003 to 2005 and now president of the American Action Forum, a public policy institute. He served in top roles at the Council of Economic Advisors under Presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush, and he was chief economic advisor to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of “Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy.”

Motoko Rich, staff reporter for the New York Times. Her July 16 article is "Wealthy Reduce Buying in a Blow to the Recovery."