Midt i den nuværende reguleringskrise kan det være nytte at vide bl.a. hvorfor The Great Depression var så “great” som den var – især når man møder folk, der bruger det som et eksempel på en vellykket redning efter et markedsnedbrud. Så her er på bare 13 sider fakta om, hvad det var, der fik folk til at gå på røven i 30erne:
“As pointed out earlier in this essay, Herbert Hoover’s own version of a “New Deal” had hiked the top marginal income tax rate from 24 to 63 percent in 1932. But he was a piker compared to his tax-happy successor. Under Roosevelt, the top rate was raised at first to 79 percent and then later to 90 percent. Economic historian Burton Folsom notes that in 1941 Roosevelt even proposed a whopping 99.5-percent marginal rate on all incomes over $100,000. “Why not?” he said when an advisor questioned the idea.After that confiscatory proposal failed, Roosevelt issued an executive order to tax all income over $25,000 at the astonishing rate of 100 percent. He also promoted the lowering of the personal exemption to only $600, a tactic that pushed most American families into paying at least some income tax for the first time.”
Great Myths of the Great Depression [Mackinac Center for Public Policy]