OMB Watch, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that seeks to promote government accountability and citizen participation, strongly supports the Fair Taxes for All Coalition in its opposition to the Bush tax cut proposal. The Bush tax cut plan is inequitable and too expensive. It will primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans and the cost will unwisely use up the budget surplus without properly investing in our future. In fact, the Bush tax plan is likely to cause actual cuts in important government services and activities that benefit us all.

The President's tax cut plan is simply too large. It locks in tax expenditures based on ten-year projections that no one knows will occur-even those with the best crystal ball. It is much more prudent to use the annual appropriations process to address public investment needs based on the actual budget picture for the coming year.

Because the Bush tax cut would straight-jacket the country with long-term commitments, it will likely result in program cuts, raiding the Social Security trust fund, or deficit spending. In essence, the President's proposal gives tax breaks to the wealthy while practically guaranteeing cuts in domestic investments that will be especially harmful to low-income and vulnerable Americans.

Gary Bass, the Executive Director of OMB Watch, emphasizes that the budget surplus represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: "We should not squander the budget surplus on expensive and unfair tax cuts, but rather use those resources to wisely invest in American families and communities."