One of the most important issues of this year’s presidential campaign is the economy and the problems surrounding it. With yesterday’s interest rate cut of three quarters of a percent and today’s ludicrous rebate deal, the economy clearly needs help. Each candidate has their own plan to stimulate the economy, yet a controversial topic—for all candidates—is taxes. In a country that offers so much, it can be surprising that taxes are so low. Even further astonishing is the current administration’s cutting of taxes while increasing spending. In order to achieve fiscal responsibility, it is imperative that we raise taxes for the richest Americans while cutting our national spending.

In the United States of America, there is a serious income gap. The richest ten percent of Americans make a great deal more than those in the next income bracket. America is one of the few countries where the CEO of a company makes a thousand times more than the person that cleans the floors. This being the case, it is a necessity to raise taxes for this income bracket. The Bush administration carelessly implemented tax cuts at a time where our economy needed more revenue, but it is time to eliminate these mistakes. By taxing on the basis of income, the government will collect revenue from those who can afford to pay—the richest ten percent of Americans.

For the middle and lower classes, taxes should remain the same or moderate tax breaks should be provided. What should not occur is a handout of checks, which is exactly what happened today in Washington. If the economy is failing, you do not dole out money to the people. It is irresponsible for our politicians to believe that Americans are going to put all of this money straight back into the economy. Americans will use it to pay off their debts, mortgages, and bills. However, one thing is clear in Washington: IT IS AN ELECTION YEAR. Hence, all the politicians will be praising this idea of giving money back to the people because all politicians enjoy getting elected. If this were not an election year, I do not believe we would be seeing this foolish act occur. This may just be the next step in a downward spiral of our economy.

A basic formula comes into play when trying to prevent recession: cut spending, increase taxes. It is truly that simple. If our country continues to spend billions in Iraq, we will not be able to avoid the coming recession. It is preposterous that we are building homes in Iraq while foreclosing on those in America. We can only hope that the next president will have a greater sense of fiscal responsibility.