Tax Cuts, King Dollar & Growth
Fifty-four years ago, at the Economic Club of New York, President
John F. Kennedy unveiled a dramatic tax-cut plan to revive the
long-stagnant U.S. economy. He proposed lowering marginal tax rates for
all taxpayers and reducing the corporate tax. He advised lowering the
top tax rate from 91 to 65 percent and closing tax loopholes. Five times
during the speech he used the word “incentives.”
In perhaps the
most famous line from that path-breaking speech, he said: “In short, it
is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax
revenues too low, and the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run
is to cut rates now.”
Kennedy had already in 1962 lowered
investment taxes on business. And after his tragic assassination, his
broader tax proposals were passed into law in early 1964. And they
worked. The U.S. economy grew by roughly 5 percent yearly for nearly
eight years.
Almost
20 years later,
Ronald Reagan launched a 30 percent tax-rate reduction to save the
economy from the high-unemployment, high-inflation 1970s. Reagan
acknowledged many times that he was following in Kennedy’s footsteps.
Under the Gipper, tax rates were slashed from 70 percent to 28 percent,
corporate taxes were cut, and numerous loopholes were closed.
The perfect place to start a column like this is with that notorious
Elizabeth Warren quote that made liberals fall in love with her.
Fifty-four years ago, at the Economic Club of New York, President
John F. Kennedy unveiled a dramatic tax-cut plan to revive the
long-stagnant U.S. economy. He proposed lowering marginal tax rates for
all taxpayers and reducing the corporate tax. He advised lowering the
top tax rate from 91 to 65 percent and closing tax loopholes. Five times
during the speech he used the word “incentives.”
