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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Martha Zoller, Julianne Malveaux
Aired April 19, 2003 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to focus now a little bit on the U.S. economy, how to shift it into high gear. Here's a look at how people responded when asked in a recent poll, "Do you favor or oppose speeding up the 2001 tax cut proposals?" Thirty- one percent favor, 21 percent oppose. When asked which is more important, 41 percent said lowering taxes, 53 percent say keeping down the federal deficit is more important.
Joining us now to talk about that and other things economic, radio talk show host Martha Zoller here in Atlanta and syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux in Washington.
Martha, let me start off with you.
Democrats say the key here is not lowering taxes, that's the last thing the economy needs right now.
You say?
MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE MARTHA ZOLLER SHOW": Well, I thought it was interesting, in the intro they said lowering taxes or creating jobs, as if the government creates jobs. Most of us work for small companies and today those jobs are created by smaller companies. So tax cuts are going to help jobs be created, they're not mutually exclusive.
So I'm in favor of speeding up to 2001 tax cuts. If they were good enough to be passed for these future years, they should be good enough for now. I do think we need to look at spending. They have to go hand in hand. And we haven't seen a federal budget go down ever under Republican control or Democratic control. So the case really can't be made that we're not spending enough money.
COOPER: Julianne Malveaux, I think I'm going to hear the word deficits from you.
JULIANNE MALVEAUX, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: You really are. I mean this president has pushed us into unprecedented deficits. When have you seen someone take a healthy surplus and turn it into a deficit? We've lost 2.7 million jobs under his watch and it's because of his economic policies.
This is not the time for a tax cut. If my colleague is concerned about spending, let's look at spending.
The Congress just authorized $78, $79 billion addition for the war. We can't ignore that and these words are not uttered by this president. In fact, the tax cuts that he proposes are tax cuts for the wealthy. We've already seen, Martha, an increase in business investment as of December 2002, the fourth quarter of 2002, but that increase in business investment has not translated into job creation because there is a disconnect between the two of those.
ZOLLER: Well, but first...
MALVEAUX: I think further the tax -- just a minute. I think further tax cuts will not do anything for job creation and government can do an awful lot there. There's nothing here for small businesses except when the feel good notion that the tax cut, taxes are going down. But when the deficit rises and when every one of the 50 states is in economic trouble, that means that people are going to end up paying more money.
ZOLLER: Well, but half of the small businesses are sole proprietors. So those lower tax cuts are going to affect them. Also, the deficit, the budget is twice -- the GDP is twice the size it was for the last deficit that we had. So we really don't have a higher level of deficit. And as far as the surpluses in the deficit, they are determined based on a static economy, based on this year's economy. So those surpluses were based on 1999 being the way our economy was going to be forever and these deficits are based on this year's economy being the way the economy is going to be forever.
So we have to deal with the here and now.
MALVEAUX: But even the politically neutral, even the politically neutral Congressional Budget Office, which, quite frankly, leans Republican, has looked at the president's proposal, looked at the proposed tax cuts and says that they will not have a stimulative effect on the economy. You're right about the static, the whole notion of a static estimate, but even if you look at a dynamic estimate, as I think the CBO is perfectly capable of doing, they have said that they do not expect to see any stimulation. And I think that the best this president can do is hold off. Why not hold off?
COOPER: Well, Julianne...
MALVEAUX: I don't think that it's going to jump start anything.
COOPER: What are you recommending to jump start things if, in fact, that needs to be done? What are you recommending? What's going to create jobs?
MALVEAUX: Anderson, I think that some counter-cyclical relief to the states. As I said, every one of the 50 states is in some form of economic trouble. All of them are talking about raising their taxes while the federal government is talking about lowering taxes. So if you think there's economic stimulation, it's going to be a wash.
I say that states are going to have to cut Medicare, health care, education. Give them some of the dollars so that they can close the gap. I think that that's one of the ways to pump some money into the states that might well be very stimulative. COOPER: All right, Martha?
ZOLLER: See, and I firmly believe in the smallest federal government as possible, with the exception of defense and the things that are our responsibility. Why? Because it's the state and local governments where you and I actually have control over the money that's spent, because we have more of a voice. We have much less of a voice on the federal government level. So I would like to see the lowest taxes possible because what will happen? Those people in those 50 states will spend that money, will invest that money, will create jobs and then we can lift all t boats.
MALVEAUX: Why couldn't -- not when theirs states are raising taxes. Not when their states are raising taxes.
COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there...
MALVEAUX: What you're going to find is if states are raising taxes, it's not going to happen.
COOPER: All right, that's the final word.
Julianne Malveaux, Martha Zoller, always good to talk to you.
Thanks very much.
ZOLLER: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Anderson.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 19, 2003 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to focus now a little bit on the U.S. economy, how to shift it into high gear. Here's a look at how people responded when asked in a recent poll, "Do you favor or oppose speeding up the 2001 tax cut proposals?" Thirty- one percent favor, 21 percent oppose. When asked which is more important, 41 percent said lowering taxes, 53 percent say keeping down the federal deficit is more important.
Joining us now to talk about that and other things economic, radio talk show host Martha Zoller here in Atlanta and syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux in Washington.
Martha, let me start off with you.
Democrats say the key here is not lowering taxes, that's the last thing the economy needs right now.
You say?
MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE MARTHA ZOLLER SHOW": Well, I thought it was interesting, in the intro they said lowering taxes or creating jobs, as if the government creates jobs. Most of us work for small companies and today those jobs are created by smaller companies. So tax cuts are going to help jobs be created, they're not mutually exclusive.
So I'm in favor of speeding up to 2001 tax cuts. If they were good enough to be passed for these future years, they should be good enough for now. I do think we need to look at spending. They have to go hand in hand. And we haven't seen a federal budget go down ever under Republican control or Democratic control. So the case really can't be made that we're not spending enough money.
COOPER: Julianne Malveaux, I think I'm going to hear the word deficits from you.
JULIANNE MALVEAUX, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: You really are. I mean this president has pushed us into unprecedented deficits. When have you seen someone take a healthy surplus and turn it into a deficit? We've lost 2.7 million jobs under his watch and it's because of his economic policies.
This is not the time for a tax cut. If my colleague is concerned about spending, let's look at spending.
The Congress just authorized $78, $79 billion addition for the war. We can't ignore that and these words are not uttered by this president. In fact, the tax cuts that he proposes are tax cuts for the wealthy. We've already seen, Martha, an increase in business investment as of December 2002, the fourth quarter of 2002, but that increase in business investment has not translated into job creation because there is a disconnect between the two of those.
ZOLLER: Well, but first...
MALVEAUX: I think further the tax -- just a minute. I think further tax cuts will not do anything for job creation and government can do an awful lot there. There's nothing here for small businesses except when the feel good notion that the tax cut, taxes are going down. But when the deficit rises and when every one of the 50 states is in economic trouble, that means that people are going to end up paying more money.
ZOLLER: Well, but half of the small businesses are sole proprietors. So those lower tax cuts are going to affect them. Also, the deficit, the budget is twice -- the GDP is twice the size it was for the last deficit that we had. So we really don't have a higher level of deficit. And as far as the surpluses in the deficit, they are determined based on a static economy, based on this year's economy. So those surpluses were based on 1999 being the way our economy was going to be forever and these deficits are based on this year's economy being the way the economy is going to be forever.
So we have to deal with the here and now.
MALVEAUX: But even the politically neutral, even the politically neutral Congressional Budget Office, which, quite frankly, leans Republican, has looked at the president's proposal, looked at the proposed tax cuts and says that they will not have a stimulative effect on the economy. You're right about the static, the whole notion of a static estimate, but even if you look at a dynamic estimate, as I think the CBO is perfectly capable of doing, they have said that they do not expect to see any stimulation. And I think that the best this president can do is hold off. Why not hold off?
COOPER: Well, Julianne...
MALVEAUX: I don't think that it's going to jump start anything.
COOPER: What are you recommending to jump start things if, in fact, that needs to be done? What are you recommending? What's going to create jobs?
MALVEAUX: Anderson, I think that some counter-cyclical relief to the states. As I said, every one of the 50 states is in some form of economic trouble. All of them are talking about raising their taxes while the federal government is talking about lowering taxes. So if you think there's economic stimulation, it's going to be a wash.
I say that states are going to have to cut Medicare, health care, education. Give them some of the dollars so that they can close the gap. I think that that's one of the ways to pump some money into the states that might well be very stimulative. COOPER: All right, Martha?
ZOLLER: See, and I firmly believe in the smallest federal government as possible, with the exception of defense and the things that are our responsibility. Why? Because it's the state and local governments where you and I actually have control over the money that's spent, because we have more of a voice. We have much less of a voice on the federal government level. So I would like to see the lowest taxes possible because what will happen? Those people in those 50 states will spend that money, will invest that money, will create jobs and then we can lift all t boats.
MALVEAUX: Why couldn't -- not when theirs states are raising taxes. Not when their states are raising taxes.
COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there...
MALVEAUX: What you're going to find is if states are raising taxes, it's not going to happen.
COOPER: All right, that's the final word.
Julianne Malveaux, Martha Zoller, always good to talk to you.
Thanks very much.
ZOLLER: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Anderson.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
