Tax Talk

I remember he had $500 billion (over 5 years) deficit-reduction package which included (net) $160 billion in tax increases.It was a plan supported by Democrats and opposed by most congressional Republicans.It did have a tax cut for some groups.Before the 1990 plan was passed, the wealthy only paid a 28% marginal tax rate while a lower-income bracket paid 33%. The 33% group got a 2% tax cut, so it was 31%. The most wealthy bracket got an increase of 3%, so 31% instead of 28%.As of 1990, it meant those making over $49,000 (or $50,000) a year paid 31%.3 brackets:15%28%31%(there were four brackets before the 1990 law)(15%, 28%, 33%, then 28% for the most wealthy bracket)But the never-ending story for both the 1990 and 1992 elections was BUSH THE TAX INCREASER BROKE HIS "READ MY LIPS" BOAST FROM THE 1988 ELECTION.The fact that the deficit reduction did not materialize until Bush left office (due to a tanking economy) robbed Bush of any political benefit to go along with all the negativity and Republican division.

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Reagan signed a law that raised social security taxes that somehow transferred the increased income into the general fund (Ronald Reagan and The Great Social Security Heist). If it could be done once it could be done again.

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The money was used to purchase treasury bonds, which brought a return in the form of interest payments. Treasury Bonds were a good investment (since inflation was knocked out by the time of the 1983 law).And treasury bonds were purchased, by Social Security, long before Reagan, and ever since.(Do you prefer investing Social Security surplus funds in the Stock Market?)(ironically, the stock market was helped by investing in federal treasury bonds, because the resulting reduction in interest rates, made the treasuries less attractive to investors, so they invested more $ in the stock market.)