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Blog
Taxing facts
February 4, 2008
Stephen Moore, an economics and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, caused some heads to spin during his presentation to the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors.
Consider some of the points he made to a large group of NAW members at their annual convention at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.:
• The United States has created more wealth in the past 25 years than in the previous 200 years. If the stock market continues at the same pace in the next 25 years, the Dow Jones Average would hit more than 100,000.
• The richest 1 percent of Americans pay 39 percent of the total income taxes collected in the U.S. The bottom 50 percent of wage earners in the U.S. pay just 3 percent. (So much for the theory that the rich don’t pay enough in taxes.)
• If the Bush tax cuts were made permanent, the stock market would jump 500 points in one day.
• Tax rebates will have no effect on the economy.
Moore cited the advantage of tax cuts, noting that the economic growth begun in the early 1980s was due to Ronald Reagan’s decision to offer tax cuts.
“Reaganomics is the economic system throughout the world,” he said, noting that China and India have cut their tax rates, leading to economic growth. “The only country in the industrial world that is not cutting taxes is the United States.”
Moore also said that 22 countries have flat taxes. Poland and Bulgaria will soon join that list, with Bulgaria having the lowest flat tax rate in the world. Ten years ago there was only one country with a flat tax rate. .
The Wall Street Journal writer also said that whoever is the next president of the U.S. will have to do something about taxes. He noted that 5 million people are already paying the alternative minimum tax and if changes aren’t made that number will rise to 25 to 30 million.
“What should be done is the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent,” Moore said. “This is an opportunity to overhaul the tax system.”
Moore also made this comment: “Jimmy Carter was the worst president of the 20th century,” noting that inflation rate during his presidency was 15 percent. “As bad as [a] president he was, he’s proved himself to be a worse ex-president.”
Posted by Jack Keough on February 4, 2008 | Comments (0)