NY Times: Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Says

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:51:04 -0700

"The study, by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, also shows that tax rates for middle-income earners edged up in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available, while rates for people at the very top continued to decline.

Based on an exhaustive analysis of tax records and census data, the study reinforced the sense that while Mr. Bush’s tax cuts reduced rates for people at every income level, they offered the biggest benefits by far to people at the very top — especially the top 1 percent of income earners.

John F. Kennedy: Conservative? Hardly.

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 07:11:15 -0600

When confronted with the evidence that Eisenhower was a flaming Liberal (by today's standards) a few on the Right have responded by claiming that John F. Kennedy was a Conservative - because he cut taxes.

It has been said that JFK's tax cuts were the greatest in history; that may be true, but I haven't seen an actual analysis that supports or refutes it. But let's put JFK's tax cuts into perspective:

JFK cut the top tax bracket on earned income (wages) from 90% to 70%. Today, Bush has cut this tax to half of that, or 35%.
JFK's tax package treated capital gains (e.g., profit from stocks, bonds, and other investments) the same as earned income - 70% tax. Bush has reduced capital gains taxes to 15%. Most of the income of the wealthy comes from capital gains, not wages.

All told the wealthy paid 70% of their income in taxes under JFK. Today, the wealthy pay less than 20% (combining wages and capital gains).

Blue Works Better. - Taxes

NY Times: Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Says

John F. Kennedy: Conservative? Hardly.