Bush lies in 3rd Debate

[Viking12]

Courtesy of the NYT:

* Taxes: Mr. Bush said most of the tax reduction in his presidency had gone "to low- and middle-income Americans." In fact, Internal Revenue Service figures compiled by the Tax Policy Center of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute show that half of all the tax cuts in effect this year go to the wealthiest 10 percent of taxpayers, those with incomes above about $70,000. One-quarter of the cuts go to the richest 1 percent, those with incomes above about $290,000. Mr. Bush also said the cuts were needed "to get us out of the recession." But he proposed the cuts in his last presidential campaign, in 2000, before anyone knew that a recession was at hand, and he justified them by saying the surplus should be returned to the taxpayers

* Fiscal Responsibility: Mr. Kerry was right that Mr. Bush had opposed pay-as-you-go rules that required tax cuts and spending increases to be offset by other tax increases or spending cuts. Those rules were put in effect in the administration of Mr. Bush's father and remained throughout the Clinton years. With Mr. Bush's encouragement, they were allowed to expire. Had they been in effect, his tax cuts could not have been enacted.

* Education: Mr. Bush's assertion, "We've increased Pell Grants by one million students," says little about administration policy, leadership or budgeting, because students obtain grants based on eligibility and tuition costs. It is true, however, that the government has in the last two years increased spending on Pell Grants, to $12.8 billion from $11.3 billion in 2003. As more middle- and low-income students qualify for aid, and with tuition vastly outpacing inflation, the shortfall between financial aid and the cost of tuition has widened.

* bin Laden: Mr. Bush incorrectly denied saying last year that he was no longer concerned about finding Osama bin Laden. But at a news conference on March 13, 2003, Mr. Bush said just that when asked why he rarely mentioned Mr. bin Laden any more. "I don't know where he is," Mr. Bush replied. "I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you." He added at the time: "I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."