Your question is so loaded with bias it's just not funny.
Here is the real alternative the opposition put forward to the cash handouts as researched.
The libs also requested that pensioners received a 30 dollar a week rise in payments ... there is a distinct possibility that this policy will be adopted in all it's short comings as there isn't much money left in the kitty for the more grandeur labor proposal.
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Tax Cuts and the Economy Tax cuts, when used properly, have stimulated the economy. Many credit President George W. Bush's tax cuts for moving the economy out of recession. Similarly, in 1964, Congress enacted an 18% cut in personal taxes to spur growth. The legislation was designed to encourage consumer spending - many believe that it succeeded admirably as consumers delivered a textbook reaction.
According to a December 2004 article in Celtia.info, a magazine distributed in Celtic countries, tax cuts have also shown positive results in other countries as well. Ireland's recent tax cuts are believed to have improved living standards significantly. For years, the Irish were faced with high unemployment, budget deficits and high taxes. In 1986, Ireland faced a fiscal crisis. After reducing government spending, the government lowered taxes on both individuals and corporations. Over the next 13 years, Ireland's per capita income went from only 63% of the United Kingdom's average to besting it in 2000. Ireland now enjoys one of the highest standards of living in Europe.
According to a May 2007 article in the Herald Tribune, tax cuts in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary before their entry in the EU have spurred economic growth in those countries.
