President Bush
With an Iraq invasion likely by early next year, the President has a small window to weigh measures aimed at jump-starting the sputtering expansion. And Corporate America hopes he seizes the moment. "Now is the time to step on the gas," says Pfizer Inc. CEO Henry A. McKinnell. "It's time to start talking seriously about a stimulus package."Revving the nation's economic engine represents more than an opportunity for a newly empowered President--it's a political imperative. "Republicans now have the ability to do many of the things they wanted to do," says Mark Kvamme, a partner at Sequoia Capital, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. "They will have no excuses."Trouble is, Bush's economists are still debating the details of his 2003 agenda. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, worried about the impact of a huge stimulus on the deficit, wants to limit the size of any package. Besides, he believes the nation's economic malaise is limited largely to a few sectors, such as tech and telecom. White House economic adviser Lawrence B. Lindsey, who frets that a sluggish stock market could drag the economy down, wants to aid hard-hit investors and consumers. Council of Economic Advisers Chairman R. Glenn Hubbard, meanwhile, thinks p
Earlier this year, business got faster write-offs for equipment purchased before Sept. Another would slash rates for all corporations. "You'll see relentless pressure for tax cuts," says Brookings Institution economist William Gale. The Administration also is considering two other approaches to help corporations. While corporations will receive some new tax benefits, the foundation of Stimulus III will be Bush's 2002 campaign promise to make his individual tax cuts permanent. 1%, as many economists predict, the White House will go on red alert. "Even something as simple as ending taxation of corporate dividends" would help. But families making $1 million-plus would get an average tax cut of $18,745. A slow-to-heal economy, says GOP strategist Ed Gillespie, "is the greatest threat overhanging the Republicans and President Bush for the next two years. Sighs one top official: "There is no common agreement on what the problem is. The odds then favor a stronger stimulus package, in the neighborhood of $100 billion or more. uny investment is the culprit and wants to target tax relief to business.
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