“An economy constrained by high tax rates will never produce enough revenue to balance the budget, just as it will never create enough jobs or enough profits.”
While I can’t take credit for that quote , I certainly agree with it. So do other fiscally responsible Republicans AND Democrats.
What many people don’t know, or have forgotten, is that this quote is from a Democrat. John F. Kennedy said it. He meant it. He also proved that reducing taxes actually INCREASED revenues and stimulated the economy.
When it came to capital gains taxes, Kennedy was also on the right side of the issue. “The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.”
Kennedy was not an advocate of “redistribution” of wealth either. He believed the wealthy should pay their share, but not EVERYONE”S share. He had this to say about that. “No American is ever made better off by pulling a fellow American down, and every American is made better off whenever one of us is better off. A rising tide raises all boats.”
Let’s begin the journey to a healthy economy and a prosperous America.
We should listen to this Democrat… President John Kennedy!
***Gordon Howie is an author, host of Liberty Today TV and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
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Some perspective is important to understanding these words: to which, the tax rates JFK was talking about. President John F. Kennedy brought up the issue of tax reduction in his 1963 State of the Union address. His initial plan called for a $13.5 billion tax cut through a reduction of the top income tax rate from 91% to 65%, reduction of the bottom rate from 20% to 14%, and a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 52% to 47%.
Obviously there is a point where cutting taxes becomes detrimental to an economy – especially and economy experiencing great concentration in the hands of a few while choking the wealth from the vast majority of the people.
Kennedy’s words, based on rates of his time, do not hold true in today’s slashed tax rates. They also do not have the context of the modern dysfunctional wealth distribution and crumbling infrastructure of the US today. His reduced rates would be double some of the current rates that the wealthy ask to be reduced for their behalf.
I understand your argument, although I don’t agree with it. I don’t hear many people suggesting that today’s tax rates have been “slashed”. What you refer too as “modern dysfunctional wealth distribution” is a symptom of terribly misguided policy from our government which actually propels people into poverty and dependence. Tax reduction today would do what it has always done… free up more capital to create jobs and stimulate a troubled economy. That creates more opportunity for everyone. The “crumbling infrastructure” could easily be addressed by redirecting the resources that are now being wasted and misspent by our government. Taxes are too high. That impedes the economy for everyone. Government is out of control with spending, regulation and control.