Counterfeit economics

This is a good thing. But something about the justification leaves me scratching my head.

President Bush signed legislation Thursday that strengthens laws targeting counterfeit goods, ranging from knockoff auto parts to fake designer purses.

Bush said counterfeiting costs the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year. He said it harms businesses and workers by undercutting honest competition, harms consumers by exposing them to products that may have safety risks and hurts the government by reducing tax revenue.

Wait a minute. Something that reduces tax revenue hurts the government? I seem to remember the Treasury Department saying something about White House tax proposals costing the U.S. government tens of billions of dollars.

What was it Treasury said again? Oh yeah.

Making permanent expiring tax breaks for dividends and capital gains, which expire at the end of 2008, would cost the government $7.74 billion in 2008 and $37.02 billion in 2009, Treasury said in its "Blue Book" description of revenue proposals in President Bush's fiscal 2007 budget.

The (Alternative Mimimum Tax) fix would forego $13.66 billion in revenues in the current fiscal year and $20.5 billion in income to the government in fiscal 2007, Treasury said.

The president's proposals to expand health savings accounts, which allow people set aside pretax earnings to pay for medical expenses, would total $5.48 billion in lost revenue in 2007 and $10.24 billion in lost revenue in 2008, Treasury said.

Does that mean Bush's tax cuts are hurting the government?

It sure does, but only here in the reality-based community.