President George W. Bush and congressional leaders agree the US economy needs a significant shot in the arm to help it recover from the shock of the Sept. 11 hijack attacks, but are far from agreement on what medicine to prescribe.
Lawmakers on Thursday began pushing their favorite ideas for economic stimulus after Bush announced on Wednesday he would like a package of about US$60 billion to US$75 billion. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has also given lawmakers his blessing for such a plan.
Bush discussed the package with Republican Senators on Thursday at a White House meeting that also included Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. The secretary also met with congressional tax and budget writers as part of an effort to sift through the various proposals and write a package that the White House and a majority of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate can support.
Republicans are leaning toward a package of tax cuts aimed at spurring business investment, while Democrats say the plan should include spending measures as well as tax cuts balanced between businesses and consumers.
"Our hope is that we can find the proper balance between spending and tax cuts and that within tax cuts, that we find the proper balance between investment incentives or commitments to expenditures, perhaps through expensing [of business equipment purchases] as well as consumptive encouragement on the part of individual consumers," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat.
A group of House Republicans urged fellow lawmakers to concentrate the package on tax measures that would "retain or create more jobs for Americans."
Specifically they said they wanted to accelerate individual rate cuts called for in the US$1.3 trillion 10-year tax cut Bush signed into law, allow businesses to write off purchases of computers and other equipment faster, repeal the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT), which companies say discourages investment in a slow economy, and lower the tax on gains from the sale of stock and other assets.
The package is likely to include some breaks for businesses, including accelerated depreciation of equipment. It also could include AMT relief, a much cheaper alternative for the federal treasury than reducing the corporate income tax as some business groups have urged. It may also include provisions that will make it easier for businesses to write off losses.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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