Bush: Economy 'headed in the right direction'
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With the U.S. Treasury poised to start mailing out 25 million child tax credit checks next week, President Bush said Saturday that his aggressive tax-cutting policies are producing "hopeful signs" of improvement in the U.S. economy.
"The American economy is headed in the right direction, and we can be confident of better days ahead," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
The child tax credit checks are being sent to taxpayers as part of a tax cut bill Bush recently signed, which increased the per child tax credit from $600 to $1,000. The measure also reduced income tax rates, and employers began lowering the amount of tax withheld from paychecks this month.
"America's families will have more of their own money to make purchases, pay their bills, save for their children's education and invest in a new home or business," Bush said.
Democrats blaim tax cuts for deficits
"Now that Americans can keep more of what they earn, we can expect to see rising demand for goods and services. And as demand increases, companies will need more workers to meet it."
Despite the highest unemployment rate in nearly a decade and the announcement this week that the U.S. deficit would hit $455 billion this year, the president pointed to other signs of an economic rebound, including a "significant rise" in the stock market.
"Earlier this week, I met with leading private economists, who see a faster rate of economic growth in the coming year-and-a-half. The U.S. housing market is robust ... Inflation is low, retail sales have been rising and productivity growth -- the most important indicator of economic strength -- remains high," he said.
Democrats in Congress have blamed Bush's tax cuts for rising deficits. The $455 billion in red ink this year is a record in sheer dollar terms, though not as a percentage of the overall economy. But the president has insisted that the war on terrorism and homeland security needs have fueled the deficit, along with overspending by Congress.
Bush said Saturday that "faster economic growth will bring the added benefit of higher revenues for our government."
He also urged Congress "to make spending discipline a priority, so that we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years."
