by Kimberly Blaker

Just when it would seem Bush has gone as far astray as possible from meeting the needs of the average American, he has dealt them one more whammy. His latest proposal takes the cake (or the loot) and is perhaps the most obvious of his pro-elite packages—a tax break for stock investors.

Interestingly enough, Bush and his Republican chums that are in cahoots have plenty to gain from this drastic measure. According to a report in The Business Times, January 9, 2003, Bush and Cheney would have made out like bandits had this plan been underway two years prior. While Bush would have made off with a measly $16,511 in tax savings during 2001, Cheney would have been $104,823 richer from that tax year alone.

The reasoning for this tax break, according to the White House, is that 92 million Americans will benefit from Bush’s overall plan, averaging $1,083 each in tax savings. What so few Americans consider is what exactly this “average” means.

ASUS PRO55 REPLACEMENT LAPTOP LCD SCREEN After 25% of Bush’s dividend tax break goes to the wealthiest of the wealthy (those making more than $1 million per year), remaining Americans would average a mere $50 per year in tax savings—a break that doesn’t even cover a week’s worth of groceries for American families.

What this tax cut will do is drain nearly $100 billion per year that, in the long-run, will affect those in need of tax savings the most. When budget cuts must be made, it is the programs affecting low and middle-income Americans that will be sacrificed.

As appealing as tax cuts may seem, it is beyond comprehension how so many Americans reaping so little benefit continue to support breaks that are designed to make the rich richer. While a single wealthy American family stands to gain $100,000 or more in a year from such breaks, 100 low-income American’s could potentially lose $1000 in benefits, or 1,000 Americans could lose $100 worth of benefits through a myriad of programs that are relied upon.

Such programs could include public housing assistance, food stamps, and Medicaid for the poor; Medicare and Social Security benefits for seniors; and unemployment compensation and state programs for the creation of jobs for middle-Americans.

As proof, a $10 billion state-aid package for the creation of jobs was eliminated from Bush’s plan. With the current rate of unemployment, this hardly seems friendly to average Americans, many of whom are successful in terms of attaining a decent-paying career but that have fallen victim, through no fault of their own, to a failing economy or corporate misdeed.

Nonetheless, Bush persists in trying to impress upon senior citizens that they, especially, will benefit from these breaks. This seems little different from the swindlers and con artists who repeatedly take advantage of the elderly. Analysts point out that the majority of seniors, most of whom have low incomes, will receive little or no benefit from this package. But Bush’s charm and the administration’s tactic of “averages” can be deceiving, seducing many Americans, and seniors in particular, into favoring such schemes.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer insists, "The president does not believe in punishing people because they are successful."

Yet the implications of Bush’s proposal clearly indicate what the president does believe in—punishing those who are not what the administration defines as “successful”—or in reality, those who have simply met financial hardship.