The Wrong Way to Get America on Track
According to a recent poll, 61 percent of Americans believe that our nation is on the wrong course.
While there are a number of factors behind this result, the economy, jobs and federal spending top the list of Americans’ most pressing concerns. This should come as little surprise given that Americans have been dealing with an economic recession for the past two years. And they’re desperately looking for a way out of it. Our leaders should be, too.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s policies won’t fix things. The Obama tax hikes -- not limited to high earners -- are scheduled to go into place on January 1, in less than four months. The $921 billion in tax increases will follow a new “stimulus” that even some in the White House refuse to promise will stimulate the economy.
“Raising taxes now or in the future is the wrong course,” writes Heritage Foundation economist J.D. Foster. In a separate, in-depth analysis, Foster peels apart the various myths and straw man arguments used to defend tax hikes and increased spending. He explains how increased taxes will slow down economic recovery; kill jobs; and incentivize additional federal spending.
The United States is saddled with unsustainable budget deficits that pose a severe and immediate threat to the economy. The cumulative effects of this spending and regulatory binge is already visible, with America sinking from the ranks of the world’s “Free” nations to the “Mostly Free,” according to Heritage’s 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.
Increasing taxes on already struggling Americans and businesses is based on the leftist myth that we can spend our way out of this recession. But it simply does not work this way. Our leaders must turn to policies that rein in runaway federal spending and promote a sensible tax policy.
------------------------------
Reprinted by Permission of the Heratige Foundation
No comments:
Post a Comment