When Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, denounces President Obama’s hope to raise the current 35 percent tax rate on our richest making a regular income above $250,000, he says such a change would devastate small businesses and possibly end life in America as we know it.
But wait, Mr. Speaker.
Under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, the tax rate on ordinary income above the arbitrary level was 91 percent.
Under President Johnson, it was 75 percent.
Under President Nixon, it was 77 percent. Under Presidents Ford and Carter it was 70 percent.
Under President Clinton it was 39.6 percent, and if you remember we enjoyed a vibrant economy then.
So despite all the gloom and doom, a modest tax increase on the ultra wealthy could help us out of the present economic doldrums.
