Tax cuts instituted by former president George W. Bush are scheduled to expire this year, setting off what will be another battle in Congress as lawmakers return to the Capitol this fall.

Economists and politicians are divided on the impact that allowing the cuts to expire could have, but lawmakers should not allow tax cuts for the rich to continue into the future.

The people who need additional tax breaks are the working middle class, low-income families and small business owners.

The Obama Administration is pushing to discontinue tax cuts that go to just 2 percent to 3 percent of Americans ”“ the highest wage earners in this country. As Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has said, that would be “the responsible thing to do.”

The Obama Administration would like to see the cuts to the top two tax rates expire. For couples earning more than $373,650 in 2010, that would mean a tax rate of 39.6 percent up from 36 percent; and for those earning more than $209,250 the tax rate would be 36 percent up from 33 percent, according to figures reported in the New York Times.

Those who earn less than $200,000 a year and couples or families earning less than $250,000 a year are truly the people who have suffered during the recession and need the most support in the years to come.

As the wealthy got wealthier under the Bush Administration, the federal deficit grew exponentially, and as Bush left office, he left a financial crisis for the current president and Congress. Now, as Obama proposes a way to help reduce the deficit ”“ allowing tax cuts for the richest Americans to expire ”“ he is coming under fire.

The criticism is unwarranted though, because jobs are not being created by the wealthy. If we want jobs to be created, new, substantial tax credits should be instated to benefit those businesses that are actually creating jobs, rather than just giving all businesses and business owners a break on taxes and hoping for the best.

As the economy worsened, businesses and the public stopped spending, and many business owners laid off workers by the thousands.

Take American International Group Inc., for example: They laid off about 600 people ”“ mainly call center staff, claims handlers and administrative workers ”“ in late 2007, according to news reports. A few months later, AIG received a bailout worth more than $182 billion and still paid out tens of millions in bonuses to executives. If the owners and executives of AIG were really concerned about the health of the economy and creating ”“ or even keeping ”“ jobs, they would have forgone bonuses and found other ways to cut costs rather than eliminating jobs for hundreds of people.

According to testimony from Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas W. Elmendorf in February before Congress, “Increasing the after-tax income of businesses typically does not create much incentive for them to hire more workers in order to produce more, because production depends principally on their ability to sell their products.”

If Congress were to extend or create new tax cuts for middle and low-income people and families and create further tax credits for business creating new jobs or hiring previously laid off workers, the economic climate will continue to improve. Allowing the wealthy to keep the Bush tax cuts will not create the significant amount of jobs the country needs, nor put money in the hands of those who spend it to keep the economy going ”“ the majority of Americans in the middle class.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven by calling 282-1535, Ext. 327, or via e-mail at nickc@journaltribune.com.