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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Fed Chief Would Oppose Extension of Bush Tax Cuts
 Yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Budget Committee. Without explicitly saying so, his comments indicate that he believes an economic stimulus package that would extend the 2001-2003 Bush tax cuts would be a bad idea.
MarketWatch:
"To be useful, a fiscal stimulus package should be implemented quickly and structured so that its effects on aggregate spending are felt as much as possible within the next 12 months or so," Bernanke said. "Any fiscal package should be efficient... Finally, any program should be explicitly temporary."
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"Getting money to low- and moderate-income families is good in terms of getting the most bang for the buck..."
Bernanke, who is a Republican appointed by President Bush, said longer-run tax measures could actually hurt the economy. "A fiscal program that increased the structural budget deficit would only make confronting those challenges more difficult..."
Posted by Craig Jennings
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