Posted by
ajhil on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 11:47:33 AM
Last night President Obama gave a major speech on the economy to a joint session of Congress. As speeches go, it was all right, as long as one doesn't compare it to the speeches of, say, Franklin Roosevelt. In the continuing battle between liberals and conservatives over FDR's legacy, the content of his speeches has been sadly neglected. The man possessed a gift for oratory - moving, eloquent, intelligent oratory - that few others in American history can match. To see for yourself, go to the Roosevelt Institute website at
A single sentence is enough to show the grace with which Roosevelt spoke.
"The greatest tribute that I can pay to my countrymen is that in these days of crushing want there persists an orderly and hopeful spirit on the part of the millions of our people who have suffered so much. To fail to offer them a new chance is not only to betray their hopes but to misunderstand their patience. "
Roosevelt was referring to a nation that was, as he famously described it, "ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished." It's difficult to imagine today the condition of the people who listened to those words. Comparisons of today's economic perils with the very real deprivation that gripped the nation during the Great Depression are inadequate. The most important thing to bear in mind is the possibility that, without effective action, we and our families might learn what it was like through bitter experience. It's not impossible!
Both before and after Obama's speech the networks broadcast interviews with various politicians, which meant, of course, that we were subjected to the same "damned lies" about tax cuts that I discussed in my last post. Since repetition seems to be one of the favorite tactics of the right, I guess I'll have to respond in kind. So here's a follow-up about the tax cut myth.
One of the most comprehensive sources for information about tax policy is a report from the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis. Published in September, 2006 the report is entitled: "REVENUE EFFECTS OF MAJOR TAX BILLS" and it can be found at:
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/tax-p...rary/ota81.pdf
Here’s a summary of the report's analysis of Reagan’s 1981 tax cut. During the four years following its enactment the "Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981" produced the following decreases in federal revenue:
Years Revenue loss
1 -$54.9 Billion
2 -$123.7 Billion
3 -$178.9 Billion
4 -$217.2 Billion
If that’s not enough, a more detailed discussion of the myth can be found at:
This one includes analysis of all three of the tax cuts that conservatives like to tout: Reagan’s, Kennedy’s, and Bush’s. As you can see, none of these produced the increases in revenue that the right wing politicians and talking heads would have us believe.
Will the myth of tax cuts ever disappear? I doubt it. By now it's become part of conservative Gospel, immune to criticism. But at least you'll know better.