“They” only call it “class warfare” when the middle class fights back

(Additional photographs in the Madison, WI Capitol)

The US of A does BEST, overall, when the very wealthiest pay more in taxes. Clearly, with regard to taxes, a 20% tax on 50 million will not cause you to question whether or not you can send your kids to college, replace a furnace, water heater, or buy health insurance, a house or car; though 20% of 50K certainly will.

Wisconsin, financially speaking, is not in bad financial shape. Governor Walker’s budget bill has nothing to do with balancing a budget, as labor readily agreed to take all the concessions EXCEPT to give up their right to bargain; their right to have a voice in their employment contracts. That’s it. The 5 states in the US of A which have banned collective bargaining for teachers have 4 out of the top 5 lowest ACT average; and face similar, or larger, deficits anyway (due to the banksters robbing the economy).

The “trickle down” idea of taxes on wealth never worked. It didnt work with Reagan, Bush Sr, or Jr. Look at the historical data over the last 50 yrs and see which “party” provided the best fiscal performance. (click graphics for larger view)

The above graph illustrates the myth that you can cut taxes, increase spending and expect to achieve increased revenue. Since Johnson every Democrat has increased revenue more than spending; while under all five Republicans since Nixon revenue has decreased and spending has increased. Positive, unambiguous proof that cutting taxes does not increase revenue. Yet Republicans continue to try to sell this old canard.

The contrast between Clinton’s tax policies and the second Bush’s are dramatically evident from this data. By setting up taxes to help the middle class and small business Clinton stimulated the economy so much that we saw the largest revenue increase in history. The Neo-Con “trickle down” policy clearly does not work. Cutting taxes reduces revenue. Period. That REAL TRUTH exists as historical FACT, no matter how many times Republicans repeat the mantra that we must make the wealthy just a little wealthier to improve the economy. It simply does not work that way and the numbers above prove it.

The beginning of the implementation of the trickle-down economic theory began in 1981 with the Gipper, President Ronald Reagan. Reagan cut taxes for the upper income tax tier from about 70% to 50%. 1981 and 1982 faced what is known as the double dip recession, and was widely understood to have ended in November of 1982. During this period of time, though taxes were reduced for the highest economic tiers and businesses, reinvestment and savings made no tangible difference to the economy. Instead, under the Reagan administration, national expenditures increased by about 30%, while national revenue saw itself being heavily outweighed. The end result was a national debt in 1985 that amounted to 283 billion Dollars, a 198 billion Dollar increase from Jimmy Carter’s term as president.

In 1989, with the election of George H.W. Bush, taxes were further slashed for the upper income tiers and businesses, and federal spending once again heavily outweighed national income. By 1991, a new national debt record was set of 432 billion Dollars, an increase of 149 billion Dollars. As Bill Clinton’s presidency began, taxes were increased for the upper income tiers and businesses and spending was balanced. Though dealing with a hostile congress (some contend the most hostile congress in US History), Clinton brought the national debt down to 18 billion Dollars, a decrease of 381 billion Dollars in 8 years.

It is important to note that by the beginning of the George W. Bush presidency, the national debt had been gathering, from the debts left from the Reagan and George H.W. Bush years, almost 2,212 billion Dollars.

Of course, when George W. Bush took office, tax cuts were pushed heavily for the wealthy, and again, national spending far outweighed the income the state was taking in. GDP essentially stagnated, but spending increased massively. In 2009, as Bush left office, the national debt amounted to 11,900 billion Dollars.

The Obama administration increased debt in attempts to resupply and artificially stimulate the economy into a strong recovery. Taxes were set to increase to near Clinton levels for the upper class and businesses and reduce for the middle and lower class (a formula that worked under the Clinton administration). In this time, Obama increased the federal debt by 1.25 trillion Dollars, though half of that is left over debt accumulation from the Bush tax cuts. In reality, about 625 billion Dollars was actual Obama spending.

It is important to note that if you add how much of the current debt was left over from the Republican administrations (Bush, Bush II, Reagan), the total comes to 12 trillion Dollars. Simple math illustrates that had the United States not had to pay the massive interest tacked on from these administrations, the United States would have been in prime economic position for the last recession it faced, and would not have come out nearly as badly beaten as it has been.

Watch a short video which further illustrates the history of our national debt.

An economy with social safety nets is perfectly sustainable. We proved that in the 1990s after Clinton raised taxes and we had surplus budgets even with our social programs. Remember just 10 years ago when the biggest problem was whether the surpluses would be too big? Kind of tragic, eh? I remember one of the biggest debate topics between Bush Jr. and Al Gore was “what to do we do with the surplus of $100 billion.”

Yes. The *current* economic model is unsustainable. It became unsustainable when Republicans elected Bush and cronies; then slashed revenues and hugely expanded spending, mostly on the unnecessary and brutal wars.

The Bush tax cuts add to the crimes committed by the banksters and in combination continue to brutally tear our social safety net apart. Budget decisions are moral and ethical decisions.

Republicans complain about Obamacare yet offered nothing as a substitute. Republicans did nothing on healthcare for 8 yrs under Bush; with a majority in congress during 6 of those years.

Anyone can hold and express their opinion in our US of A. They’re entitled to it. Though they are not entitled to deny facts, lie, deceive, or rewrite history.

Thank you Bucky Miller for doing my homework for me.