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Show Orrin Hatch Tax cut for 'Middle America' needed "The chief problem confronting our economy is its unrealized potential, slow growth, underinvestment, underinvest-ment, unused capacity and persistent unemployment. The result is lagging wage, salary and profit income, small take-home pay, in-sufficient in-sufficient productivity gains, inadequate federal revenues, and persistent budget deficits. One recession reces-sion has followed another, with each period of recovery and expansion fading out earlier than the last." This is a perfect description in nearly every detail of today's economic "Our tax system siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal per-sonal and business purchasing pur-chasing power and reduces the incentive for risk, investment, in-vestment, and effort thereby aborting our recoveries (from recessions) reces-sions) and stifling our national na-tional growth. " Kennedy then asked for a permanent, perma-nent, across-the-board, ten percent tax cut which Congress agreed to. The disincentives referred to by President Kennedy are still with us, and there is reason to believe that a similar type of permanent tax cut is the answer to our current problems. pro-blems. Many economists are getting on the "band wagon," advocating a permanent per-manent tax cut. Why? Because a permanent per-manent tax cut would stimulate economic growth through increased production -- real production produc-tion to create jobs needed to reduce unemployment, to raise the overall standard stan-dard of living, to enlarge the tax base enough to eliminate deficits in the federal budget and to fight inflation. A permanent tax cut stimulates economic growth and production by providing capital for investment, in-vestment, either directly or through savings institutions. institu-tions. Within the last few weeks President Carter has begun to signal that he might ask Congress for a tax cut of around $22 billion in early 1978. Noticeably absent from the President's "trial balloons" is any mention of a tax cut for the middle income family which sup ports the government. The President suggests two-thirds two-thirds of the $22 billion should go to business --which --which is in critical need of tax reform -- the other third to low income families. President Carter may be getting the picture. A tax cut is needed but not a preferential tax to aid some while discriminating against and penalyzing : others. An across-the- : board tax cut is needed for ' every American, whether j businessman, laborer or farmer. ' Increased taxation, ; without relief, can only lead to a time when there : will be nothing left to take. ; Taxes and inflation will i have taken all there is. I Now is the time for a i universal and permanent j tax cut. : problems, et these are the words of the late President John F. Kennedy more than It years ago. And just what did the President do to change the economic picture? He addressed the Congress in this language. |
