Steve Forbes: Tax Cuts saved U.S. Economy

"When Steve Forbes speaks about money, people listen.

Not only is he editor in chief of the nation's leading business magazine, Forbes, he has also become the nation's evangelist for free market policies, notably tax cuts and a 'flat' income tax. And Forbes is a former presidential candidate, having made bids for the GOP nomination in 1996 and 2000.

Though Forbes didn't win in either year, his agenda may have 'rubbed off' on the Republican platform.

President Bush, for instance, has fully embraced the view that tax cuts stimulate the economy. Bush proposed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which Congress passed. It will cut taxes by an estimated $1.3 trillion by 2010. Another bill in 2003 cut taxes a further $60 billion a year, focusing on dividends and capital gains taxes.

So far, the effects have been clear. In the first 33 months after Bush signed the 2003 tax bill, the American economy increased by 20 percent and nearly 5.3 million new jobs were created." Read on...