Obama's New "Tax Cuts" are Designed to Create Votes and Not Jobs

When it comes to income taxes there are basically two ways you can cut them. You can either have taxes that benefit consumption (geared primarily towards the large middle class in modest amounts and are designed to encourage consumer purchases) and those that are across the board (the same percent for each income group) and encourage production (also known as a "supply-side" tax cut). President Obama favors the former because he considers them more "fair" and they have the ability to help him with the middle class which has become increasingly unhappy with his policies. Rumor has it, he is considering such cuts as we approach the 2010 mid term elections. Someone needs to teach him some history.

For decades Republicans have resisted Democrat attempts to provide small and modest tax cuts for the middle and lower class at the expense of those with higher incomes, simply because such polices do not work. In 2008, as Republicans were fighting for their political lives, President Bush passed just such a consumption tax cut package of his own with very weak results. Most Americans received checks that were designed to make them go out and buy a new TV, maybe take a vacation, or even use it towards the down payment on a car. However, because of the rampant economic fear that our country has been suffering from, people used those checks to pay off credit cards, to make a payment on their mortgages, or to do other things to reduce debt.

These demand side, or consumption tax cuts, are very different from those on the supply side. Supply side cuts are usually long term (multi-year in scope) and proportional (giving as big of a percentage to the affluent as those in lower income brackets). The amount of savings for the affluent -- who pay the vast majority of all the revenues the government acquires annually -- are typically significant enough to lead to the creation of new jobs, the expansion of businesses, and to stimulate the economy. History has repeatedly proved this to be true.

Calvin Coolidge passed a huge tax cut that led to one of the greatest expansions of the economy in US history during the 1920s. In the 1960s, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy eloquently stated that it was imperative to "get the economy going again" and believed that tax cuts would lead to a "rising tide that will lift all boats" (rich as well as those who wish to be rich). Those tax cuts, which were predicted to lead to a depletion in revenue, led to one of the last balanced budgets the US enjoyed for decades and economic expansion. In 1980 Ronald Reagan inherited one of the worst economies since the Great Depression (similar to the one today) and he attacked taxes with a plan that was largely modeled after the Kennedy tax cuts. That tax bill was called a "jobs creation act," which is exactly what supply side tax cuts achieve, and it contributed to one of the strongest periods of economic growth in US History. Finally, following the technology bubble burst at the end of the Clinton Administration and the tragedy of September 11th, President George W. Bush used supply-side tax cuts to create an economy that sustained the lowest unemployment for the longest period of time since the early part of the 20th century (in terms of years of full employment). He followed that up with the ridiculous consumer tax cut of 2008 that did nothing to move things in the right direction (including voters that he was trying to appeal to) and has left many scratching their heads. We have learned that all tax cuts are not alike.

Part of the dramatic decline in the economy is actually linked to the end of the Bush supply-side tax cuts that had to be approved each year by the Congress in order to stay in effect. In 2006, pro supply-side Republicans were beat by Democrats who opposed those policies. The businesses that largely drive the economy knew their days were numbered. Hostility towards a pro-business view of taxes has become even worse following the election of Obama. After a few years since the 2006 elections unemployment went from 4.5 percent to around 7 in no time (and is now pushing double digits), consumer confidence reached a record low. 2008 should have been a Referendum on the Democrats. Instead, Americans decided to consume more of the poison that is destroying the economy.

Americans need to know the difference between consumption and supply-side tax policies, and remind their representatives of those differences in the up coming election cycle. Meanwhile, pro-growth candidates for Congress should use 2010 as a year to remind their constituents of what works and to use this as a wedge issue for Obama and his Democrats who seem to hate wealth (and, thus, job) creation.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Why Bush's Consumer Driven Tax Cuts Didn't Work

For decades Republicans wisely discredited Democrat attempts to provide small and modest tax cuts for the middle and lower class at the expense of those with higher incomes, simply because such polices are ineffectual. In 2008, as Republicans were fighting for their political lives, President Bush passed just such a package. Most Americans received checks that were designed to make them go out and buy a new TV, maybe take a vacation, or even use it towards the down payment on a car. I predicted on my radio show that it wouldn't work and have defined effective tax policy often in this blog. I hate to say I told you so, but they didn't work. Instead, people used them towards their mortgage so they can stay in their home one more month, others paid on a credit card, and others still put it away for a rainy day. Very few used it to jump start the economy.

This "demand side" tax cut (meant to increase consumption) has the potential of giving all tax cuts a bad name. Supply side tax cuts have a much different effect. These cuts are usually long term (multi year in scope) and proportional (giving as big of a percentage to the affluent as those in lower income brackets). The amount of savings for the affluent -- who pay the vast majority of all the revenues the government acquires annually -- are typically significant enough to lead to the creation of new jobs, the expansion of businesses, and to stimulate the economy. History has proven this to be true.

Calvin Coolidge passed a massive tax cut that led to one of the greatest expansions of the economy in US history during the 1920s. In the 1960s, Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy eloquently stated that it was imperative to "get the economy going again" and believed that tax cuts would lead to a "rising tide that will lift all boats" (rich as well as those not so rich). Those tax cuts, which were predicted to lead to a depletion in revenue, let to one of the last balanced budgets the US enjoyed for decades and economic expansion. In 1980 Ronald Reagan inherited one of the worst economies since the Great Depression and he attacked taxes with a plan that was largely modeled after the Kennedy tax cuts. That tax bill was called a "jobs creation act," which is exactly what supply side tax cuts achieve, and it lead to one of the strongest periods of economic growth in US History. Finally, following the technology bubble burst at the end of the Clinton Administration and the tragedy of September 11th, President George W. Bush used supply-side tax cuts to create an economy that sustained the lowest unemployment for the longest period of time since the early part of the 20th century (years of full employment). He followed that up with the ridiculous consumer tax cut of 2008 that did nothing to move things in the right direction and has left many scratching their heads. Not all tax cuts are alike.

The dramatic decline in the economy is actually linked to the end of the Bush supply-side tax cuts, that had to be approved each year by the Congress in order to stay in effect. In 2006, pro supply-side Republicans were beat by Democrats who opposed those policies. The businesses that largely drive the economy knew their days were numbered. The results were almost instant. After less than two years unemployment went from 4.5 percent to 6 (and is now pushing 7), consumer confidence reached an all time low, and the Dow Jones went below ten thousand for the first time in four years (is is now typically between 8 to 10 thousand). 2008 should have been a Referendum on the Democrats. Instead, Americans decided to consume more of the poison that is destroying the economy.

Americans need to know the difference between consumption and supply-side tax policies, and remind their representatives of those differences before the next election cycle.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

For This Fourth of July Remember the Roots of Our Revolution

Throughout human history, taxes have been one of the foremost ways that governments intrude on the rights of citizens. In fact, as we all learned in school, our democratic American Revolution began with a tax revolt. Our forefathers knew that if you bind up a man's economic life with taxes, tariffs, and regulations, you deprive him of some of his most basic civil rights. They have a wonderful phrase describing economic liberty in the Declaration of Independence. They call it "the pursuit of happiness." Well, with tax reform, we're going to make that pursuit a lot easier for all Americans." - President Ronald Reagan’s Radio Address to the Nation on Independence Day and the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty, July 5, 1986.

The American Revolution was predicated on some very radical ideas. The founders wanted a country in which the people ruled the government and not the government over the people. They wanted government to serve as a protector of individuals, but not as a provider of the public's desires. They saw government as an institution with limited scope and designed to protect private property and free enterprise. It would be nice if we had that type of government today.

The above quote by Ronald Reagan is one of my favorites and he is one of the last Presidents who ranked economic freedom as a civil liberty that needed to be protected. I'm sure others might have believed such, but he is one of the only ones who articulated such a view. In the above radio address given during the Independence Day holiday season of 1986, Reagan reminds us where the Revolutionary War found its roots -- it was a major tax revolt. Ronald Reagan made such revolts very popular again and he changed the way the nation debates tax policies.

Before Reagan, paying high taxes was considered patriotic and to propose such was fiscally responsible. Since Reagan, legally keeping every cent is patriotic because we now believe individuals can do better with their money than government and it is good for the treasury because tax cuts have a history of stimulating economic activity that results in higher revenues. This was the case for the Calvin Coolidge tax cuts of the 1920s, the John F. Kennedy cuts of the 1960s, the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980s and the Bush cuts in recent years. Tax cuts increase employment, economic growth, and revenues.

It is time for us to remember the power of tax cuts in moving voters and the economy. I, for one, will require any candidate I consider to understand these important ideas before I hand him or her my vote. That is my way of keeping the spirit of the American Revolution alive on the fourth of July and the other 364 days of the year.