JFK was the first President to cut taxes on the rich...

BolivarianHero

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Tue Mar-09-10 12:52 AM
Original message

JFK was the first President to cut taxes on the rich...

why?

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Drunken Irishman

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Tue Mar-09-10 12:54 AM
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1. Because the tax rate for the rich was something like 90%.

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laughingliberal

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Tue Mar-09-10 12:57 AM
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2. The top tax rate was 91% when Kennedy took office. His proposal was to lower it to 74%

It's not totally accurate to say he cut taxes. He was, actually, murdered before the bill passed and Johnson signed it in 1964. His actual intent was to collect more from the rich because, although he lowered the rate, he closed a boat load of the loopholes.

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PSPS

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:07 AM
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3. You're right. Lowered top marginal rate but closed loopholes to compensate.

It was saint reagan that started the "tradition" that "only little people pay taxes" by essentially eliminating taxes on billionaires.

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laughingliberal

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:11 AM
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4. Yep. And every election year the RW makes big hay of "Kennedy knew cutting taxes was the right thing

to do" without ever bothering to mention the top rate is now 56% lower than it was when he was elected. And no one in the whore media ever calls them on that.

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Oregone

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:13 AM
Response to Reply #2

5. What loopholes?

I always see people state the top marginal tax rate wasn't really 90% because of "loopholes". What were they and how significant were they? Did they really make 90% and 74% just about the same?

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laughingliberal

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:31 AM
Response to Reply #5

7. I don't know. I was 9 years old. I just know that is what his position was

Have not read the changes to the tax code from 1964. It's my impression from reading the writings of those familiar with it that it did close some loopholes. But I can't swear to that. I just know it was Kennedy's intent.

The most irritating thing for me, though, is listening to R's talk about it like Kennedy was a supply sider. For God's sake he proposed lowering the rate to 74%. It's 35% now and they act like we're taking food out of their mouths.

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sandnsea

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:14 AM
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6. WWII was largely paid for n/t

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laughingliberal

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:32 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. Yep. And helped the rest of the world rebuild. nt

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Happy Friend

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:41 AM
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9. JFK also

changed the tax code to encourage socially helpful investments. Read the book Battling Wall Street for more.

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villager

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Tue Mar-09-10 01:45 AM
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10. And we saw how the rich repaid him for *that*...

n/t

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