Raising Taxes In a Recession

In the early the 1930's, President Roosevelt became concerned about the burgeoning federal deficits.  Thus, he enacted tax increases which many believe caused businesses not to hire and fostered more economic sluggishness.  Thus, the Great Depression continued.

Eighty years later, President Obama is deliberating as to whether to extend the "Bush tax cuts".  Allowing them to expire is analogous to raising taxes during a downturn.

Increased tax rates coupled with the business uncertainty created by Health Care Reform and Financial Industry Regulation has caused the current recovery to stall.  Yet, our political leaders bemoan our current high unemployment levels.

There are so many parallels between the "Great Recession" and "Great Depression".  I exhort our policy makers to open up their history books and avoid making more of the same mistakes.