Income taxes have been on a steady downward trend since the early 1980s. Our tax rate now is lower than it was in 1955. The upward trend started because of the war in Iraq.
You might also want to look into Jane Bryant Quinn’s analysis for CBS Money Watch: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/make-money/your-federal-income-taxes-are-lower-than-you-think/109/?tag=content;col1.
Or be brave and get into the comparison of U.S. personal income tax rates between 1975 and 2008 with those elsewhere in the world, at: www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/Content/PDF/oecd_historical_toprate.pdf.
While our rates are certainly not the lowest, they’re far from being the highest.
On another note: it’s interesting to look at the U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics on unemployment now and during the Reagan years: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/UNRATE.txt.
When Barack Obama took office in January of 2009, the unemployment rate stood at 7.4 percent. It climbed to 10.1 percent by October but dropped to 10.0 in November and December. At the end of September 2010 it stood at 9.6 percent.
When Ronald Reagan took office in January of 1980, the unemployment rate stood at 6.3 percent. By September of 1982, the unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent, stood at 10.8 percent in November and December. It remained over 10 percent for 10 months. It took 46 months to push the rate back down to 6.3 percent.
Perhaps we should show some patience.
Nina Bouska lives in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
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