The Myth of JFK as Supply Side Tax Cutter

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To put it all in reality, you need to compare the real percentage of corporate taxes actually paid which is 11% this year because of corporate loopholes and off shore banking of profits as a shield, and compare that to 41% actual taxes paid by corporations during the Kennedy years to not only understand the revenue loss, but more importantly to understand that when the rate is high or at least reasonable like 35-45%, it makes the corporate world leave the money IN THE COMPANY and thus allows for growth and adding jobs rather than pay the money out to CEO and top company officials, and also makes the company invest in itself instead of constant mergers and quick buy and sell for profit that we see now. WE NEED MORE REVENUE

Ed of CA 6:16PM August 15, 2011

Were he able to have a word with the affirmative action administration now in charge I'm fairly sure his first remarks would be along the lines of, "Whoa big fella. This is not, 1 and 1/4 trillion dollar deficit, what I had in mind".
And really, you are OK with a government taking 35% or more of anyone's wealth away?
OK, so JFK was a Keynesian. So what? He rightly recognized, way back when, as we are discovering now, the taking in by the gov't at ALL levels is not the problem. It's the spending, stupid!

Mike Villierme of CA 8:02PM February 03, 2011

So far i read two articles by you and you have nauseated me to the point of gas. Really! There are several speeches of JFK (available on youtube)where he advocates across the board tax cuts to stimulate the economy, and guess what? For the exact same reasons as Reagan! Its not an delusion, its fact. JFK was not a dove, he was a very hawkish politician, these two facts alone position him much closer to today's conservative right than the Socialist left.

Reggie of FL 12:46PM January 28, 2011

Reagan did give back A PORTION of tax cuts, but got needed concessions by Democrats. Newt took care of Clinton's tax increases with tax cuts that worked, and Bush tax cuts got government revenue up 4.06 % before Cinton's housing mess burst.
Robert needs JFK because sucess of "Keynesian" is HOT AIR. Ask Japan...

Bill Hedges of MO 7:11PM January 27, 2011

Schlesinger is simply trying to save the idea of liberalism through any means necessary. He claims JFK's tax cuts aren't the same because the rates were so much higher than they are now. That argument makes no sense, we are talking about whether or not he lowered tax rates and the reason why, and his reason was exactly the same as Reagan's. To spur the economy.
And then he goes on to try to say that JFK lowered tax rates in order to create deficits. That is absolutely false, and he knows it. He leaves out the rest of the JFK quote, which said "In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now." In other words, he lowered tax rates in order to raise revenues to the federal government, not to purposely create deficits. The fact that the author purposely left this part of the quote out shows he is dishonest.

MrReasonable of OH 4:05PM January 27, 2011

Here's another JFK QUOTE:
Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large Federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits… In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.
Just exactly what is Keynesian about that, you manipulative moron?

Stephen of CO 2:39PM January 27, 2011

Actually Bart, a tax credit can be better than a tax cut depending on the tax situation of the individual/couple. The energy/auto/home tax credits were not the only the credits in the tax bill. There was a broader credit that extended to just about everyone. In my case, that credit was just enough to prevent me from having to send in a check to IRS.
Tax cuts are typically at the percentage level which reduce the amount of your taxable income. This may or may not make significant difference to your tax liability. Credits count against your tax liability dollar for dollar. Refundable tax credits like the EIC can even result in refunds when you have no tax liability.
So while one might argue about the terminology, the effect was the same. People paid less taxes because of the credits in the stimulus. Most tax programs automate the process and people often don't realize what credits they are getting.

Maurice of GA 1:03PM January 27, 2011

What mythical tax cuts in the stimulus plan? "Barack Obama (the tax cuts in the stimulus package, for example, were arguably the largest in history)" This unicorn came up, not during the stimulus cram-down, but just prior to the 2010 elections. The idea that a "tax credit" to discount the purchase of an electric car is a "tax cut" is intellectually dishonest and fraud.
There were no tax cuts. The deal to continue the Bush tax rates is not a tax cut. Not raising taxes is not a tax cut.

Bart of NM 12:39PM January 27, 2011

Bill you are absolutely correct on the money, and Robert you need to get out of the re-writing history business. I just love all of this Obama trying to be like Reagan talk. It's beyond absurd, and the ploy will not work until the man realizes his disaster known as Obama care is eliminated. Because it won't matter what Obama tries to do, because when the entitlements we had are needed to be fixed, Obama adds a bigger entitlement, go figure!

Alex of CA 12:37PM January 27, 2011

See these posts:
http://www.shsu.edu/~bfd001/EconoclastsSite/Blog/Entries/2010/1/4_Weirdness_from_the_Kennedy_Family.html
and:
http://www.shsu.edu/~bfd001/EconoclastsSite/Blog/Entries/2009/12/20_Did_the_S.O.B._Club_Devour_Paul_Samuelson.html

Basil Ransom of PA 8:58AM January 27, 2011