Nothing is obvious about a liberal’s blog except lack of clarity, glaring errors, misstatements of facts, quotations out of context, I didn’t mean it that way, ….

In your liberal world, if the effective federal tax rate was 1% and it was reduced to 0% you would state that the tax rate was reduced 1%.

In the world in which real people live we would state there was a 100% reduction in the tax rate.

Just gotta love the intellectual honesty of liberals which is why my tolerance limit for Rachel Maddow on MSNBC is about 30 seconds when channel surfing.

I’m obviously looking at the difference in rates, not the percentage of decrease, aren’t I?

I love liberals that can’t do math. Must be their social promotion driven education or intelleectual dishonesty. I suspect its both so here’s a intellectually honest 6th grade math lesson to go with the one in economics.

Carter’s 1980 rate was 22.4%. Reagans 81~85 rate was 20.8%. That is a 7.3% cut in the effective tax rate. (22.4-20.8)/22.4 = 7.3%

Carters 1980 rate was 22.4%. Reagans 88 rate was 21.5%. That is a 4% cut in the effective tax rate. (22.4-21.5)/22.4 = 4%

“Klute and Johnny always love to talk history and ignore current events, like the current crap-hole we’re in……”

I could turn this around and talk about how you like to avoid history (or at least history that’s inconvient), but I did reference the present in how Obama’s tax cuts are helping the middle class.

Is your tax burden more or less than last year?

“Were taxes raised in some bills, yes.”

Ah, so you can be intellectually honest. Going back to our original point, raising taxes in a recessoin is not always suicide then.

And going back to your little graph, Reagan actually raised taxes 3 times during his presidency, and the most they ever decreased was 2%, with the final year of the presidency being .9% less than the Carter average. It’d be fun to see the tax rates for their tiers. See who took the brunt of Reagan’s tax increases.

But .9% difference equals 100% socialism. Got it.

No, it’s not parsing, it’s basic reading comprehension.

Twice the question was posed:

“Did Ronald Reagan, Ronaldus Magnus, or whatever the hell you people are calling him these days – did he raise taxes during the 1982 recession or not?”

“It’s also what Reagan did in the 80s [raising taxes]? Was it Suicide then?”

All he had to do was say “Yes, but…” He can’t even acknowledge something that doesn’t fit into his preconcieved narrative.

“Which branch of the government is responsible for spending and taxing?”

Could Reagan have vetoed it? Yes. Did he? No. Did his budget that he submitted include tax increases? Yes.

See, they’re all simple “Yes/No” questions. I guarantee you it won’t sully your hero worship of Reagan to admit that he didn’t believe in things that you so vociferously do – For instance, I think Truman was one of the best presidents this country ever had, yet I can acknowledge he did things unconsitutional, like trying to break the railroad strike of ’52. It helps if you don’t have a black and white, Manichean view of the world.

“Yes, indeed,thanks to Obama, many many people are enjoying significantly lower taxes this year due to loss of their jobs.”

Are you employed, wanumba? Did your taxes go up or down this year?

Seems like you need that economics lession. Were taxes cut in some bills, yes. Were taxes raised in some bills, yes. This is not a game of was there a bill Reagan signed that raised taxes. While true, it is meaningless. What is key is the total net effect on fed tax rate and not what an individual bill did.

Total Effective Fed Tax Rate from CBO on All Households

1979 22.2 Carter
1980 22.4 Carter
1981 20.7 Reagan
1982 20.4 Reagan
1983 21.0 Reagan
1984 20.9 Reagan
1985 20.9 Reagan
1986 21.6 Reagan
1987 21.8 Reagan
1988 21.5 Reagan

Effective Fed tax rate under Reagan went down per the CBO. The recovery was driven by the sustained lower tax rates in years 1981 through 1985. In these 6 years the average effective tax rate was reduced by 7.3% from the 1980 Carter rate, we had the greatest post WW II economic growth in our history and revenue to the Treasury increased. Sorry if you don’t like facts and economic truth but that how it is. You’re like the guy who wants to point out the three dandylions in an otherwise great yard. Technically correct but effectively meaningless.

How about this question? Which branch of the government is responsible for spending and taxing?
Legislative.

Reagan inherited a split – GOP majority Senate, Dem majority House. He had to work in a BIPARTISAN manner his entire presidency.

The Democrats today control the executive and legislative branches and are positioning to control the judiciary. Political hat-trick. No checks and balances. In ONE year’s time, they not only blew the debt out the roof, they are continuing to expand it. There will be enormous negative consequences for decades.
“Working as planned.”

……………..

“Just like you can’t change the fact that Obama has lowered taxes as well. In fact, did my taxes last weekend, and my tax burden is LOWER than it was last year.”
…………

Yes, indeed,thanks to Obama, many many people are enjoying significantly lower taxes this year due to loss of their jobs. Next year will be worse.

How is it “NO”? Reagan raised taxes during a recession – THAT’S the question at hand. Stephen Kohut can’t accept that, taking a page for your playbook, answering a binary question with a paragraphs long, multiple post screen. Going back to that Orwell book you didn’t read, you can’t shove facts like that down the memory hole simply because they’re inconvienient.

Just like you can’t change the fact that Obama has lowered taxes as well. In fact, did my taxes last weekend, and my tax burden is LOWER than it was last year.

“They will. It won’t be pretty, and it’ll be very very very very hard to stop once the decline begins.”

Okay, Private Hudson. Let me know when they start coming out from under the floorboards.

Reagan Tax cuts pulled America out of the Carter Malaise Recession. Unlike video games, these sorts of things take a little while in real time to manifest themselves.

Like Obama’s and the Democrat Party-Controlled Congress’s, massive debt-driven spending. Everything still seems sort of normal, even with the job losses, but the effects haven’t hit yet. They will. It won’t be pretty, and it’ll be very very very very hard to stop once the decline begins.

The Democrats are wrecking the American Nation as we have known it with out of control debt-based spending, “Working as planned.”

“There is just not enough time or space here to try and give you an education in economic.”

And needless to say, you sure ain’t the man to give it.

“No matter how you spin it…”

It’s not spin – it’s a goddamned yes or no question. Did Reagan raise taxes? Yes or no? Simple question. Simple answer. YES.

There is just not enough time or space here to try and give you an education in economic. No matter how you spin it, the recovery was driven by the initial massive tax cuts. Latter on there was some tax revenue neutral code changes. The taxes that went up were SS and Medicare in 1983 to keep those system from failing. Total federal tax rate burden during Reagan dropped no matter how you play with the numbers. For more, try and get educated on economics.

“But there is no way around it, from 81-82 unemployment rose and the recession got worse when Reagan cut taxes and they got better when they went back to the levels when he took office.”
………………

Hey, I was IN that recession! Came back to the USA slam in the Carter Malaise Recession, landed right here in Arizona at over 11% unemployment and had to find a job.

Carter also bankrupted a good chunk of the family farms in America when he cancelled all the US grain contracts with the Soviet Union in impotent retaliation against USSR for invading Afghanistan. Farmers had heavily borrowed against signed, sealed 100% guaranteed grain sales to the USSR and were RUINED when Carter pulled the rug out from under them.

Reagan really inherited a MESS, diplomatically, domestically and economically.

Amazing to have lived thru to see how fast Reagan turned it around.

Just busting with intelligent, open-minded people here.
Are you feeling … out of place?