Wall Street Journal: Bush Sets Conference to Push His Social Security, Tax Agenda:

President Bush will use an economic conference with business leaders and other experts this month to build momentum for his efforts to overhaul Social Security and the tax code amid early signs of resistance in Congress. The conference will explore ways to keep the economy growing and to "make sure America remains the most competitive economy in the world," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. But the meeting, set for Dec. 15-16 in Washington, appears designed mostly to bolster Mr. Bush’s chances of achieving his top economic-policy goals, which also include curbing federal budget deficits, making health care more affordable, improving education and overhauling the civil-justice system.

Wall Street Journal: Avoid These Mistakes When Donating to Charity:

In the spirit of giving, and the lure of a tax break, people often donate cash, investments or personal property to their favorite charities this time of year. But there’s more to it than just writing a check and dropping it in the mail before Dec. 31. Not only how much you give, but where you give it, can make a difference.

Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Await Details of Bush Agenda; Chairmen of Key Panels Say Dispatch Is Essential to Overhaul Social Security, Tax Code:

If President Bush wants to overhaul the tax code before leaving office, he may have to move faster and do more to force consensus among the Republicans in Congress who can make it happen. Mr. Bush isn’t expected to unveil his tax plan before next fall at the earliest. But Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa says he needs to do so no later than March 1, since he believes Congress must pass it next year if it is to happen at all.

Washington Post: Theoretically, Tax Reform Should Fly; Get Real, Say Critics of White House Economists:

If you want to understand why the Bush administration is pondering eliminating the tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance, consider this year’s Economic Report of the President. There, White House economists assert that the deduction unfairly subsidizes employees of some companies while encouraging overly generous health policies that focus on routine medical care. "If automobile insurance were structured like the typical health policy, it would cover annual maintenance, tire replacement, and possibly even car washes," said the report, concluding that "health insurance markets can be improved . . . [to] focus on large expenditures that are truly the result of unforeseen circumstance" and "to provide a more standardized tax treatment of all health care markets."

The argument points to a certain truth about President Bush’s free-market economic policies that Bush supporters say is unappreciated: In crafting a broad agenda for his second term, Bush is trying to adhere strictly to economic theory, perhaps even more so than during the Reagan administration’s early battles over deregulation and taxes.