QUOTE: On April 24, 2003, President Bush traveled to Timken Companys Canton plant to promote his tax plan. In a speech to workers, he promised that the tax cut plan means more money for investments, more money for growth and more money for jobs. Numerous studies have refuted that claim, showing that while the President's tax cuts rewarded wealthy Americans with tens of thousands of dollars in tax windfalls, the rest of America actually received relatively little. The average Bush tax cut for the wealthiest one percent of Americans is $938,000, reports Citizens for Tax Justice. According to Reuters, the Chairman of Timken Company, W.R. Timken, made $2.62 million in 2003, clearly placing him in the wealthiest one percent of Americans. Two months later, W.R. Timken co-hosted a fundraiser for Bushs campaign in Akron which raised $600,000, and earned Timken Ranger status (for those who raise more than $200,000 for the campaign). Then, in September last year, Timken Company announced it was laying off 700 workers, adding more pain to one of the jobless recovery's most hardest-hit states. [ Dude, trickle down works. That $600,000 will support at least a dozen people in the dirty-campaign-ad industry. Um, maybe one or two of those 700 unemployed plant workers can get in on the action -- sweeping the studio floor, taking out the trash, etc. Campaign Money Watch |