There are a lot of mistakes this administration is making in basically every area of policy, but there are many that they should not be making simply because we know from history that they produce negative results. Unfortunately for many progressives, ideology has gotten in the way of factual history. Take the tax debate currently going on in Washington. The Obama administration is advocating raising taxes to fill budget gaps that he has created. That is an important point that is being missed by the MSM. He is not advocating cutting taxes for the middle class or keeping them the same. He is advocating raising taxes. Period. Without even considering the fact that these tax hikes will not fill the vast hole he has created, let’s take a look at why he would even consider such a thing. It is a case of selective education.
What he is proposing is not something new. He is, in fact, following step for step the mistakes made during the 30′s. A recession had started (caused in part by the government…sound familiar). The government’s response would turn this recession into the great depression. After 2 years of dramatic increases in government spending (from a 700 million surplus to a 2.6 billion deficit…familiar again), Hoover decided to raise taxes dramatically to fix the gap. He increased sales taxes, estate taxes (doubled), taxes on banks, personal income taxes (highest rate at 63%), corporate taxes, and put gift taxes back in place. You will notice that the Obama administration has either already implemented or is trying to implement all of these type tax increases. The result will be the same as it was during Hoover’s tenure… A worsening economy by the government’s hands. Just for giggles we can look at FDR’s raising of business taxes again in 1937. It had the same negative effect on the economy (sudden 4.3% drop in GDP often called the double dip). Just as a side note both of those men were extremely anti-capitalist. I guess the same can be said of Obama, which maybe explains why he is trying the same failed policies.
Instead of facing the reality of what is going on, Obama is once again using the propaganda machine to try to convince our uneducated populace why he must be right. They are actually putting out videos. The first of which the Heritage Foundation has edited for accuracy and re-released.
The bottom line is that raising taxes will not solve the spending problem in Washington, which is the problem Obama and his team are ignoring. Funny since liberals for years have bashed the Bush administration for their spending. Come to think of it, that is another thing Obama has in common with FDR
“the most reckless and extravagant past that I have been able to discover in the statistical record of any peacetime government anywhere, anytime”
That was FDR in reference to Hoover administration’s spending. Pretty funny considering FDR made Hoover seem conservative. For reference, here is a good book that covers the New Deal and the time period of the Great Depression. It’s an easy read filled with good information.
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