Bush Rebuts Greenspan s Critique Of Fiscal Policy |
| 面对美国联邦储备委员会(Federal Reserve)前主席格林斯潘(Greenspan)对布什政府财政纪录的批评，布什(Bush)总统在对格老本人表示敬意的同时却对此批评不以为然，认为自己的减税政策起到了抵御经济衰退和削减巨额赤字的作用。 布什在接受福克斯新闻频道(Fox News Channel)采访时表示，本届政府的财政纪录是好的，也是令人称道的。毕竟与过去30年的平均值相比，目前政府赤字占国内生产总值(GDP)的比例已是相对较低了。 布什表示，减税政策起到了明显效果，这不仅体现在抵御经济衰退和帮助美国摆脱恐怖袭击的影响上，还明显体现在赤字方面。经济的增长带来了更多的税收收入，政府因此才得以压缩赤字。 福克斯新闻频道周二播放了此次采访的简要内容，并表示其余内容将在稍后的某天播放。 格老在本周发表的一篇文章中敦促总统和共和党议员担负起控制联邦开支爆炸性增长的责任。格老还对前总统克林顿(Clinton)在经济事务上的作为、尤其是他在削减赤字方面的成就大加赞赏。 而布什则表示，他对格老心怀敬意，但不赞同其表述。 周二格老也接受了福克斯新闻频道的采访，其间他再次批评布什总统没有在政府开支问题上行使足够多的否决权。他认为，美国已经迷失了方向。他还称赞克林顿是一段时期以来最好的民主党总统。 Henry J. Pulizzi |
| Saying he 'respectfully' disagrees with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's recent criticism, President Bush defended his administration's fiscal record and said his tax cuts helped the U.S. fend off recession and reduce massive deficits. 'Our fiscal record is admirable and good. After all, the deficit as a percentage of GDP is low relative to the 30-year average,' Mr. Bush said in an interview with the Fox News Channel. 'I would also argue that cutting taxes made a significant difference, not only in dealing with a recession and an attack on our country, but it also made a significant difference in dealing with the deficit, because the growing economy yielded more tax revenues, which allowed us to shrink the deficit.' Fox aired a brief portion of the interview yesterday. The remainder will be aired at a later date, the network said. In a memoir released this week, Mr. Greenspan takes the president and Republican lawmakers to task for presiding over an explosion of federal spending. He also praises former Democratic President Clinton's stewardship of the economy, particularly his effort to slash the deficit. 'I would respectfully disagree with the characterizations of Chairman Greenspan,' Mr. Bush said. The former Fed chairman, also interviewed on Fox yesterday, repeated his criticism that Mr. Bush hasn't used his veto frequently enough on spending measures. 'I think we've lost our way,' Mr. Greenspan added. 'I think Bill Clinton was the best Republican president we've had in a while.' Henry J. Pulizzi |
