著者

坂井 誠

出版者

恵泉女学園大学

雑誌

人文学部紀要 (ISSN:09159584)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.16, pp.23-48, 2004-03

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When it comes to economics, President George W. Bush is purported to be a believer in neo-liberalism, which embraces both individual liberty in economic activities and minimal intervention by the government in the national economy. Neo-liberalism, as exemplified by supply-side economics, reared its head as anti-Keynesian doctrine and grew even stronger just before former President Ronald Reagan took office in the early 1980s. Under the Bush administration, three tax reduction packages have been put forward times since 2001, based on proposals introduced by the president, modeled after Reagan's policies and typically featuring both huge tax cuts and increased defense spending. When we take a careful look at Bush's policies including this series of tax relief packages, we find that most of them were introduced chiefly to stimulate the national economy on a short-term basis, reflecting Keynes and Keynesian doctrine rather than the more long-term perspective of neo-liberal supplyside structural reform. It appears that Bush, preoccupied with his goal of re-election in 2004, has been fundamentally adopting the eclecticism he has attributed to neo-liberalism in introducing his policies, including tax cuts, in spite of their Keynesian features. If the huge budget deficit continues, it will have a negative impact on the national economy in the future, particularly if Bush reverts to being as economic neo-liberalist and political conservative, and makes a strong effort to revise the sunset rovisions that exist in the tax relief packages. It is quite probable that the U. S. economy will in the long run inevitably confront the downward pressure under the influence of either higher long-term interest rates triggered by a larger budget deficit, through the repeal of sunsets, or a relatively heavier tax burden on U. S. citizens.