Max Baucus: “the textbook definition of ``economics'' is about scarcity. For example, in his textbook ``Principles of Economics,''…”

“the textbook definition of ``economics'' is about scarcity. For example, in his textbook ``Principles of Economics,'' President Bush's chief economic adviser, Gregory Mankiw, wrote this: Economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources. We could say the same thing about fiscal policy. Fiscal policy is about how society, acting through its government, chooses to allocate scarce resources. There is not an endless supply of money. We have to make choices. Every time we put together a budget, we have to make choices. Every time we formulate the Nation's tax policy, we have to make choices. So when it comes to whether to extend the 2001 tax cuts, once again, we have to make choices. It is a question of priorities. The debate over what to do about the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for those with the highest incomes is a debate about priorities. Are we better off devoting scarce resources to a larger tax cut for those at the very top or are we better off devoting those scarce resources to new tax incentives to promote investment and create new jobs or are we better off devoting those scarce resources to reducing the Federal budget deficit and debt? Those are the choices we need to make. Today, the Senate is considering how we should make those choices. The amendment we have offered says basically: Let's make the middle-class tax cuts permanent. That is something on which pretty much everyone in this Chamber should agree.…”