Lee - I think you are partly correct, but not entirely so.
You are correct that eventually the stimulus provided by tax cuts, and the growth that results from it, does eventually run down, run out, or whatever you want to say. That part of the cycle is natural.
Eventually, whatever stimulus or change that is applied to the economy runs it's course, and the economy will have absorbed the changes and made the changes a regular part of the economy.
Still, it can be said that the tax increases that were applied during George H.W. Bush definitely negatively impacted the economy. It ruined the boat building businesses, thanks to the luxury taxes that were a feature of the plan. That same change took a few years to be cleared up in the economy. And yes, it's even possible that some of Clinton's tax increases didn't harm the economy, but the growth cycle that came along during Clinton's time had far more to do with the hype surrounding Y2K, along with the explosive growth of the internet than anything else.
Unfortunately, many of the changes that were put forth by George W. Bush (current president) have been done as gimmicks that eventually will sunset. The Senate and House have not had the guts to make many of the changes permanent, or to really let lose on a few other changes that might really spur things in the economy.
It remains to be seen if the changes that Greenspan and friends have been applying will have a negative impact on the economy. Greenspan continues to be phobic about inflation, so much so that the dumb dumb increases the discount rate like crazy which does just what he fears -- raises costs for everyone, who in turn raise their prices for everyone, which equals inflation. Greenspan continues to see the economy as growing nicely (which is good), yet that are sectors of the economy that are underperforming, and continued high transportation costs are causing many people (like myself) to cut down on luxuries like going to the movies, in favor of staying home and watching DVD or cable (satellite actually). Same with going out to dinner and restaurants. Rather than spend a fortune going out, we instead are doing more eating at home. These spending habits help some (Netflix as an example, the local grocer as another, the farmers and cattlemen suppliers for the grocers as still another) while hurting others (the movie theatres, the restaurants, the suppliers for those places, etc.)
