Steuersenkungen könnten positiven Effekt haben(im Gegensatz zu früheren Äußerungen) und nix Neues zu Leitzinsen.
Greenspan Says Tax Cuts Could Do Good
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday lent
clout to President George W. Bush's plan for major tax cuts, saying that if the U.S. economy
continued to deteriorate, a cut could do ``noticeable good''.
Greenspan, who had long advocated using surpluses to pay down debt over the second-best
choice of tax reduction, said that with sustained productivity gains fueling growing surplus
projections, the trade-off between debt and tax reduction no longer existed.
``The most recent data significantly raise the probability that sufficient resources will be available to undertake both debt reduction
and surplus-lowering policy initiatives,'' he said. ''Accordingly, the trade-off faced earlier appears no longer an issue.''
In closely watched testimony on ``Evolving Fiscal Challenges'' prepared for delivery to the Senate Budget Committee just days
before the next policy-setting meeting of the Fed, Greenspan did not address the interest rate outlook. However he acknowledged
that there was a slowdown underway.
``Should current economic weakness spread beyond what now appears likely, having a tax cut in place may, in fact, do noticeable
good,'' he said.
Gruß Dampf