Today’s Orange County Register reminded me of an occurrence 29 years ago. On August 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut (the Economic Recovery Act of 1981). At the time, the economy looked horrible: inflation was high, unemployment was high, and the word ‘stagflation’ was in common use. The tax cuts led to an economic boon.
The Register gets this right:
On the 29th anniversary of the Reagan tax cuts, the political elite in Washington, D.C, led by President Obama, should heed the lessons of the 40th president. Burdening people further with taxes is the last thing we ought to be doing – we should be putting money back in the pockets of the taxpayers.
Today, the economy looks pretty miserable. While inflation isn’t high, unemployment is even higher, and there are no signs of economic growth. Unfortunately, President Obama isn’t a fan of President Reagan. He and his Secretary of the Treasury (Tim Geithner) are proposing tax increases (the ending of the Bush Tax cuts). The likelihood of tax increases stimulating the economy is the same as the Cubs making this year’s World Series.
[…] Russ Fox of Taxable Talk says that President Obama should take a page out of Ronald Reagan’s handbook by not raising taxes (i.e. extending the Bush tax cuts): Today’s Orange County Register reminded me of an occurrence 29 years ago. On August 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut (the Economic Recovery Act of 1981). At the time, the economy looked horrible: inflation was high, unemployment was high, and the word ‘stagflation’ was in common use. The tax cuts led to an economic boon. […]