We need to cut corporate taxes to stimulate the economy, like in the 1950's. Right?

[Scuba]

[liberal N proud]

1. K&r

[B Calm]

2. Republicans believe by cutting their taxes they'll create jobs.

I think history would prove them wrong!

[SwankyXomb]

4. It does create jobs.

Just not in America.

[OhioChick]

6. Jobs are created in China, India and elsewhere n/t

[AlbertCat]

3. Of course Corps don't pay the corporate rate anyway.

That's why Clinton imposed a mandatory corporate tax... at about the European corporate tax rate.... 16%? 17%?

Anyway, that mandatory tax helped greatly to get us to a surplus. And no corporations suffered greatly for it.

[former9thward]

5. There was never a mandatory corporate tax. By Clinton or anyone else.

President Bill Clinton says the nation’s corporate tax rate is “uncompetitive” and called for a lower rate as part of a “mega-deal” to raise the debt ceiling.

“When I was president, we raised the corporate income-tax rates on corporations that made over $10 million [a year],” the former president told the Aspen Ideas Festival on Saturday evening.

“It made sense when I did it. It doesn’t make sense anymore — we’ve got an uncompetitive rate. We tax at 35 percent of income, although we only take about 23 percent. So we should cut the rate to 25 percent, or whatever’s competitive, and eliminate a lot of the deductions so that we still get a fair amount, and there’s not so much variance in what the corporations pay

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58275.html#ixzz2jbAorTf5

[IronLionZion]

7. And individual income tax rates from the 50's?

If conservatives want to take us back to the 50's, lets really take it back through tax rates.

[JHB]

8. Not just the rates, the distribution is even more important IMO...

Taking the 1955 tax brackets (married couple filing jointly) and adjusting for inflation:
24 tax brackets total, ranging from 20% to 91%
16 of them only affected incomes above $250,000
11 of those only affected incomes above $500,000
The top rate kicked in for income over ~$3.4 million.

Compare that to now:
7 tax brackets total, ranging from 10% to 39.6%
2 of them only affect incomes above $250,000
0 of those only affect incomes above $500,000
The top rate kicks in for income over ~$440,000.

And that was after the fight to add one more bracket at the top. Otherwise, replace the top rate with 35%, cut one bracket from the total and "above 250K", and the top rate kicked in at ~$388K.

[FogerRox]

9. Japan and Europe didnt recover from WW2 untill the mid 60's.

Its kind of fruitless to compare pre 1970 Corporate rates to post 1980's rates.

[demigoddess]

10. Yes, but so few people remember how the 50s were

They have no idea how active the unions were. They have no idea that families were living on one income, buying houses, and cars. They do not remember how good many of the schools were. I know there was segregation and the schools for black kids were not always great, but most schools were better than today. A high school education was the equivalent of one or two years of college at one point. We had a much wider range of subjects in school. World History, American History AND American Government, Trig, Biology Lab, Home Ec, Auto Shop, Metal Shop, Music, Spanish, French, German. We had Phys Ed every school day from 7th through 12th grade. I could have taken Sewing and Garment Design all through high school. And in my state we were integrated.

[Scuba]

11. +1 Great post, thanks demigoddess.

[RebelOne]

12. I remember it all.

I was in junior high and senior high in the '50s. If you expected to achieve at all, you needed at least a high school education. Talk about integrated schools, I lived in South Florida at that time and everything was segregated.