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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and congressional Democrats will debate the nation's economic policy next week and unveil competing proposals designed to stimulate the lackluster U.S. economy.
But before the plans are even on the table, the two sides have been trading charges, with Democrats saying the White House is focusing on the wealthiest taxpayers and Bush accusing Democrats of engaging in "class warfare."
On Saturday, as the president spent a quiet day at his ranch working on the final details of his proposal, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle took to the airwaves to deride Bush's tax cut plan as "the wrong idea at the wrong time to help the wrong people."
"The president's plan won't help middle-income families, it won't contribute to economic growth, it won't make our homeland more secure, it won't expand educational opportunity for the young or strengthen Social Security for the elderly," he said. "Instead, by putting us deeper into deficit and debt, it makes all of those things harder to achieve."
The proposal that Bush will announce Tuesday in Chicago, which is being termed a "jobs and growth plan," will cost $600 billion, an administration official said Saturday -- double previous White House estimates.
Defending the cost of the plan at a time of deficit spending, the official said, "The president is interested in balancing the budget, but growth creates a surplus. Surplus doesn't create growth."
Congressional sources familiar with the details of the White House plan said it would likely include new tax breaks for individuals and businesses, such as tax cuts on stock dividends, write-offs for businesses that purchase certain equipment and acceleration of tax cuts currently scheduled to take effect in 2004.
In addition to reinstating an extension of unemployment compensation that expired in December, the plan may also include other benefits for jobless Americans, including job training programs, the sources said.
The president will also propose giving federal dollars to cash-strapped states to fund Medicaid and other programs, the sources said.
The plan could also include proposals targeted to middle- and low-income Americans, such as a child tax credit and a boost in the earned income tax credit, the sources said, but it is not clear if those provisions will make it.
Daschle, who is expected to announce a 2004 presidential exploratory committee in the coming weeks, said the tax cuts in the president's plan "would almost exclusively go to the wealthiest Americans."
"I intend to do everything I can to replace this misguided plan with a proposal for immediate tax relief for middle-class families -- tax relief that will actually spur economic growth," he said. He offered no specifics of what that plan might entail.
On Monday, House Democrats plan to release their own stimulus proposals. At a news conference Friday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California gave few details of the proposal but characterized it as "fair" and "fiscally sound."
"It will create jobs and it will grow the economy," she said.
Pelosi dismissed the reported outline of the Bush plan as a "Trojan horse to wheel in some tax breaks for the high end that they're so fond of."
She pointed in particular to the plan to reduce taxes on dividends, which she said could cost $250 billion over 10 years -- a quarter of which would go to millionaires. And she also criticized the administration for not pushing for an extension in unemployment benefits sooner.
"It is certainly going to be too little too late but we'll just see how little it is," she said.
Congressional sources said the Democratic plan would be more expensive than the White House plan in the short-term, though it would cost less in the long-term -- reflecting the Democratic view that more must be done immediately to bolster the economy.
The Democratic plan will likely include a refundable tax credit, similar to the 2001 tax rebate checks, sources said. However, instead of covering only those people who pay taxes, as the 2001 rebate did, the Democratic plan would also provide the credit to those who don't pay taxes, the sources said.
Bush, speaking to reporters at his ranch Thursday, rejected Democratic criticism that his plan will primarily benefit wealthier Americans.
"What I'm worried about is job creation, and I'm worried about those who are unemployed," he said. "When I talk about an economic stimulus package, I will talk about how to create jobs as well as how to take care of those who don't have a job."
"I understand the politics of economic stimulus, that some would like to turn this into class warfare. That's not how I think. I think about the overall economy and how best to help those folks who are looking for work."
But before the plans are even on the table, the two sides have been trading charges, with Democrats saying the White House is focusing on the wealthiest taxpayers and Bush accusing Democrats of engaging in "class warfare."
On Saturday, as the president spent a quiet day at his ranch working on the final details of his proposal, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle took to the airwaves to deride Bush's tax cut plan as "the wrong idea at the wrong time to help the wrong people."
"The president's plan won't help middle-income families, it won't contribute to economic growth, it won't make our homeland more secure, it won't expand educational opportunity for the young or strengthen Social Security for the elderly," he said. "Instead, by putting us deeper into deficit and debt, it makes all of those things harder to achieve."
The proposal that Bush will announce Tuesday in Chicago, which is being termed a "jobs and growth plan," will cost $600 billion, an administration official said Saturday -- double previous White House estimates.
Defending the cost of the plan at a time of deficit spending, the official said, "The president is interested in balancing the budget, but growth creates a surplus. Surplus doesn't create growth."
Congressional sources familiar with the details of the White House plan said it would likely include new tax breaks for individuals and businesses, such as tax cuts on stock dividends, write-offs for businesses that purchase certain equipment and acceleration of tax cuts currently scheduled to take effect in 2004.
In addition to reinstating an extension of unemployment compensation that expired in December, the plan may also include other benefits for jobless Americans, including job training programs, the sources said.
The president will also propose giving federal dollars to cash-strapped states to fund Medicaid and other programs, the sources said.
The plan could also include proposals targeted to middle- and low-income Americans, such as a child tax credit and a boost in the earned income tax credit, the sources said, but it is not clear if those provisions will make it.
Daschle, who is expected to announce a 2004 presidential exploratory committee in the coming weeks, said the tax cuts in the president's plan "would almost exclusively go to the wealthiest Americans."
"I intend to do everything I can to replace this misguided plan with a proposal for immediate tax relief for middle-class families -- tax relief that will actually spur economic growth," he said. He offered no specifics of what that plan might entail.
On Monday, House Democrats plan to release their own stimulus proposals. At a news conference Friday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California gave few details of the proposal but characterized it as "fair" and "fiscally sound."
"It will create jobs and it will grow the economy," she said.
Pelosi dismissed the reported outline of the Bush plan as a "Trojan horse to wheel in some tax breaks for the high end that they're so fond of."
She pointed in particular to the plan to reduce taxes on dividends, which she said could cost $250 billion over 10 years -- a quarter of which would go to millionaires. And she also criticized the administration for not pushing for an extension in unemployment benefits sooner.
"It is certainly going to be too little too late but we'll just see how little it is," she said.
Congressional sources said the Democratic plan would be more expensive than the White House plan in the short-term, though it would cost less in the long-term -- reflecting the Democratic view that more must be done immediately to bolster the economy.
The Democratic plan will likely include a refundable tax credit, similar to the 2001 tax rebate checks, sources said. However, instead of covering only those people who pay taxes, as the 2001 rebate did, the Democratic plan would also provide the credit to those who don't pay taxes, the sources said.
Bush, speaking to reporters at his ranch Thursday, rejected Democratic criticism that his plan will primarily benefit wealthier Americans.
"What I'm worried about is job creation, and I'm worried about those who are unemployed," he said. "When I talk about an economic stimulus package, I will talk about how to create jobs as well as how to take care of those who don't have a job."
"I understand the politics of economic stimulus, that some would like to turn this into class warfare. That's not how I think. I think about the overall economy and how best to help those folks who are looking for work."
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It will lead nowhere except to more debt and economic erosion.
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