by Mark Silva
"No question rising gasoline prices are like a tax on our working people,'' President Bush said today, blaming the problem on American dependency on foreign oil.
And no question, he said, "We are not in a recession.''
He also accused his party's rival candidates of campaigning with pledges "to tax the rich.''
Bush made his remarks in New Orleans, at a joint press conference with the leaders of Mexico and Canada during a two-day hemispheric summit.
Bush was asked if rising gas prices will not "erase or certainly erode the benefit'' of the Economic Stimulus Act which he pushed and which Congress approved - with billions of dollars in tax rebates promised for American households in May. And he was asked "how deep and how long'' the recession will be.
"I'm obviously concerned for our consumers,'' Bush said. "All the more reason to have passed a rebate, tax relief. And all the more reason for the United States Congress to keep the tax relief I passed permanent. We got people out there campaigning, "well, we're just going to tax the rich."
"You can't raise enough money to meet their spending appetites by taxing the so-called rich,'' the president said. "Every one of those so-called 'tax the rich' schemes end up taxing the middle class families. And in a time of economic uncertainty we need tax certainty. In a time of rising gasoline prices, we need to be sending a message to all Americans, we're not going to raise your taxes.''
The president insists that congressional reluctance to explore vast new resources of domestic oil - notably in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - has exacerbated the problem of rising gas prices.
"What's happening is, is that we've had an energy policy that neglected hydrocarbons in the United States for a long period of time, and now we're paying the price,'' Bush said. " We should have been exploring for oil and gas in ANWR, for example. But, no, we made the decision -- our Congress kept preventing us from opening up new areas to explore in environmentally friendly ways. And now we're becoming, as a result, more and more dependent on foreign sources of oil.
"Fortunately, Canada and Mexico are our biggest providers, for which we are grateful,'' he said standing alongside Canada's Harper and Mexico's Calderon, "But our energy policy is -- wasn't effective over the past decades, and now we're paying the price.''
Bush was asked "how deep and how long'' the economic recession will be in the United States.
"First of all... we're not in a recession,'' Bush said, "We're in a slowdown. We grew in the fourth quarter of last year. We haven't had first quarter growth statistics yet. But there's no question we're in a slowdown. And people are concerned about it, obviously. I'm -- of all the three of us standing up here -- I'm probably the most concerned about the slowdown. After all, it's affecting the people who I have the honor of representing. '
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Comments
Yeah, people. Don't you remember what happened in 1993 after we raised taxes on the rich? The middle class wound up suffering through the greatest economy in our nation's history. So there.
Posted by: Paul | April 22, 2008 5:26 PM
"You can't raise enough money to meet their spending appetites by taxing the so-called rich,'' the president said. "Every one of those so-called 'tax the rich' schemes end up taxing the middle class families."
Unlike Bush's method of spending like mad, and letting our children and grandchildren pay for it. How can President Deficit say this stuff with a straight face?
Posted by: Luke | April 22, 2008 5:43 PM
Wow, did President Bush just wake-up after seven and a half years. Gas prices have been climbing since he entered office. If we would have listened to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, former President James Carter, years ago, we wouldn't be in this moronic morass. Hopefully, with the new Democratic administration sworn in, in January, we can begin to clean-up this mess!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | April 22, 2008 5:43 PM
Remember back when we had to get in line to get gasoline, because of a shortage? The administration can't bring that up, because their is no shortage. Otherwise we would be standing in lines again.
Bring down the price of gas to reasonable levels, get the people back in their cars, and workers back in their trucks, the economy bounces back! Unless the oil companies like it just the way it is?
Now another idea for those that do not much driving. Fill up your tank for $7. For seniors and others who may only drive their car a few times per week, every other day perhaps, on short trips, around town. You can fill your gas tank for $7. How you ask? This is easy on the pocket book, and one that I prefer. The next time you fill your tank and you make a short trip, your tank is about perhaps 2 gallons short. On your next outing pull into the gas station and put in about $7 worth, no more. So your tank is not completely full perhaps. Well on your next trip get $7 more, no more. Try it, you’ll like it. Isn’t it a little bit better than spending $50 or more on one filling?
haiki
Posted by: Haiki | April 22, 2008 6:06 PM
The US is sitting on 25-30 BILLION barrels of oil (4 BILLION barrels just discovered in North Dakota) underground. Canada has 180 BILLION barrels available.
Wouldn't it make more sense to let US oil companies drill for oil in the US and Canada rather than having them bring it in from Saudi Arabia, keeping the money in the US and not going to people in Iran and Dubai?
OH NO! That might ruin vast tourist attraction in hot spots like the North Slope of Alaska and North Dakota.
You have reaped what you have sown.
Posted by: Dan C | April 22, 2008 6:23 PM
"MCCAIN 305 MILLION DOLLARS SPEAK"
JUST GET A 2ND JOB AMERICA. JUST GET YOUR WIFE AND KIDS A 2ND JOB AMERICA. IT'S NOT EASY BEING RICH.
JUST GO SHOPPING AMERICA FORGET THE "FURTURES" WE STOLE THAT ALREADY.
I UNDERSTAND YOUR "PAIN" AT THE PUMP. I UNDERSTAND YOUR "PAIN" AT THE GROCERY STORE. OUR AGRICULTURAL POLICIES ARE WORKING. THE POOR IS GETTING MORE POOR AND THE RICH IS GETTING PAID AT THE PUMP, AND AT THE GROCERY STORE.
SO WHAT IF I HAVE 305 MILLION DOLLARS AND 9 HOMES AND A KEG OF BUD IN ALL OF THEM.
GET A 2ND JOB AMERICA. WORK HARDER. YOUR MOM AND DAD PAID BACK THAT 3.5 BILLION I LOST DURING MY "KEATING MAVERICK" DAYS.
JUST GET A 2ND JOB! THINGS WILL BE ALRIGHT!
OR YOU CAN CALL YOUR LOCAL SENATOR AND GET ME OUR IMMUNITY, BECAUSE IT COST MONEY TO PROTECT THE COMPANIES THAT PROTECTED US!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! VOTE FOR ME, I'M RICHER THAN RICHIE RICH!
I GOT MONEY, YES, I DO, I GOT MONEY HOW ABOUT YOU?
Posted by: Roger Morris | April 22, 2008 6:24 PM
McCain deserves to be the next president - the one who is going to be hit by the combination of the financial crash, peak oil and the destruction of the US Army in Iraq leftover from his good Republican friends at BushCo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nqtL-P8kzo
Posted by: John E | April 22, 2008 6:44 PM
What about the record profits that American oil corps are making? Nope. No price gouging whatsoever.
Posted by: Vivian | April 22, 2008 8:36 PM
Bush In 2000: U.S. Simply Needs To Tell OPEC To "Open The Spigots."
This guy is simply the worst president in U.S. history. I don't think I will ever understand how people were able to vote for him again in '04! But congrats to all of you who did. You are getting just what you deserve. Special thanks to Karl Rove and friends.
Posted by: JW | May 21, 2008 2:58 PM