Marginal tax rates 1916-2011
Was sparring with RW friend (I think that's all I do lately) over the weekend. He longs for the "glory" days of Reagan when "success wasn't punished" and "there were more people pulling the cart than in the cart being pulled." First of all, this guy was still in diapers when Reagan was president, so he is coming from a position of nostalgia no doubt pounded into his head by his parents, but I sent him this link to try to educate him.
http://visualizingeconomics.com/2012/01/24/comparing-tax-rates/#.UBaVZKDleSo
and said "If you are intellectually honest, you will admit you are wrong about the Reagan years in the context of what your statements regarding taxes. If your response to this email is anything but a variation of 'I was wrong' this conversation is over, because you are not to be taken seriously. You are merely arguing to win and not arguing to learn."
He wrote back "There are liars, damned liars and statisticians." So I didn't respond. The conversation is over. He has since written back a few times trying to play some more, but I am not having it. Pearls before swine.
If you view taxation as punishment (which is rather perverse unless the rates are high enough to be considered confiscatory) you must admit that Reagan "punished success" worse than Obama, except for what appears to be a very brief period at the end of his second term. By all three tax metrics, corporate, income and capital gains, taxes are lower now than they have been for along time.
We can't help the brainwashed, but we may be able to help those left in the middle that still can think critically. At least I hope so.
