Adding the Internet to Main Street, Wall Street and Capitol Hill -- the other targets of the administration's persuasive efforts -- was a novel twist that perhaps underscored the importance of the proposed tax cuts to Bush in this pre-election year.
Treasury's point person with Wall Street and the nation's financial community -- Peter Fisher, undersecretary for domestic finance -- fielded questions about Bush's plan as part of an online appearance at the Washington Post's Web site.
Pam Olson, Treasury's assistant secretary for tax policy, was slated to participate in an online session Wednesday evening hosted by MSNBC.
On Tuesday Bush detailed a 10-year, $674 billion plan aimed at helping the lackluster economy. The package includes speeding up tax rate reductions and increases in the child tax credit, eliminating taxes on stock dividends and accelerating deductions planned for business equipment. Democrats have a competing plan, which includes tax rebates, which would cost $136 billion in its first year.
One online participant asked Fisher how wiping out taxes on stock dividends would jump-start the economy.
"This proposal is certainly not the only provision looking to keep the recovery on track," Fisher wrote in his response. "The acceleration of the tax cuts; the reduction in the marriage penalty; the increase in the child credit are all more directly geared to giving the economy a near-term boost."
Fisher stuck to the company line that the president's plan would help the economy, create jobs and provide benefits to all taxpayers.
"We are aggressively advocating the president's jobs and growth plan on every outlet we can find," said Rob Nichols, spokesman for the Treasury Department, which is playing a key role in that campaign. "We're covering every base we can," he added.
Fisher also was asked how the plan would help anyone other than millionaires.
"First, everyone who pays taxes, especially middle income Americans, benefit under the president's plan as the tax rate reductions passed by Congress in 2201 are made effective immediately," Fisher said.
Huh?
One of the potential pitfalls of chatting online -- as opposed to hitting the airwaves -- is that it highlights a person's typing skills, or lack thereof. Actually, Fisher's typing wasn't bad. The 2201 date was an obvious typo. He meant 2001.
It marked Fisher's first online chat as a Treasury official, Nichols said.
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