When I listen to the demands of some of the speakers at this year’s CPAC convention, demands that call for America to do away with our federal income tax, public education and far more, I wonder about our future.
My problem is I grew up in a different world. A year after I was born, World War Two was suddenly thrust on the generation of the late 1930s, and what happened? The people of America came together and made many decisions that helped America to overcome. Over 16 million Americans put their lives on the line for America by serving in our military. The American people agreed to increases in our federal income tax brackets so that America could pay for the cost of the war. The top tax bracket went up to 88% which meant that the wealthiest of our Americans were then probably paying at least 30% of their total wages and depending on how high their earnings were, that number would rise even further.
As the years continued beyond the war, our top tax bracket remained in play, and under President Eisenhower, it even increased to 91%. And what did America experience in this world of progressive taxes? For one thing, our American Interstate Highway System grew significantly allowing transportation, both private and business, to expand. And with this expansion came continuing growth in America's economy. And how did the average American fare during this time? I believe it is safe to say the rich remained wealthy, while the middle class experienced a glorious growth in economic well being and the poor, while still at the bottom, began to see better results for themselves as well.
Jump ahead to the mid 1960s and then the 1970s, and America began to reverse course. The highest tax brackets of our federal income tax began to come down. And as the top tax bracket lowered, the poor and the middle class began to take on more of the burden of our many wars along with the many other costs incurred in keeping a great nation above water. And as this was happening, the gap between the rich and the middle class and poor, which had been dramatic during the 1920s and then greatly reduced during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, once again began to expand. Today, this gap is incredibly large.
One more point about our military. During World War 2, about 11% of our Americans served in our military. In the last 10 years, less than one and half percent of Americans have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. And of those who have served, many have seen themselves sent back to the war front time after time. And interestingly enough, most of those American politicians who created the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, either never served a day in our military, or if they did, never served during the Vietnam War or in any other military conflict in progress when most of these political leaders were of an age to serve.
I still believe that our founding mothers and fathers gave us a great start in 1789 when our United States of America was created with a brand new federal constitution. And we as a nation have been able to survive some serious challenges along the way. But our history is a mixed one, to say the least. In my opinion, if we want to continue to survive as a great nation, it would be in our interest to remember that we are the United States of America, and the term united connotes the idea of community. I have no problem with the ideas of individual responsibility and economic capitalism, but we've also made it this far by accepting the concept of capitalism as a term that also includes the idea of social responsibility as part of the mix. Why else would the rich and wealthy, during World War Two have agreed to tax brackets around the 90% level? They did so because they understood that we are a community, and sometimes, in order to overcome a challenge, those in the community with more, must contribute more to allow for the community to survive. In the end, all of us are served well by this tactic.
My problem is I grew up in a different world. A year after I was born, World War Two was suddenly thrust on the generation of the late 1930s, and what happened? The people of America came together and made many decisions that helped America to overcome. Over 16 million Americans put their lives on the line for America by serving in our military. The American people agreed to increases in our federal income tax brackets so that America could pay for the cost of the war. The top tax bracket went up to 88% which meant that the wealthiest of our Americans were then probably paying at least 30% of their total wages and depending on how high their earnings were, that number would rise even further.
As the years continued beyond the war, our top tax bracket remained in play, and under President Eisenhower, it even increased to 91%. And what did America experience in this world of progressive taxes? For one thing, our American Interstate Highway System grew significantly allowing transportation, both private and business, to expand. And with this expansion came continuing growth in America's economy. And how did the average American fare during this time? I believe it is safe to say the rich remained wealthy, while the middle class experienced a glorious growth in economic well being and the poor, while still at the bottom, began to see better results for themselves as well.
Jump ahead to the mid 1960s and then the 1970s, and America began to reverse course. The highest tax brackets of our federal income tax began to come down. And as the top tax bracket lowered, the poor and the middle class began to take on more of the burden of our many wars along with the many other costs incurred in keeping a great nation above water. And as this was happening, the gap between the rich and the middle class and poor, which had been dramatic during the 1920s and then greatly reduced during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, once again began to expand. Today, this gap is incredibly large.
One more point about our military. During World War 2, about 11% of our Americans served in our military. In the last 10 years, less than one and half percent of Americans have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. And of those who have served, many have seen themselves sent back to the war front time after time. And interestingly enough, most of those American politicians who created the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, either never served a day in our military, or if they did, never served during the Vietnam War or in any other military conflict in progress when most of these political leaders were of an age to serve.
I still believe that our founding mothers and fathers gave us a great start in 1789 when our United States of America was created with a brand new federal constitution. And we as a nation have been able to survive some serious challenges along the way. But our history is a mixed one, to say the least. In my opinion, if we want to continue to survive as a great nation, it would be in our interest to remember that we are the United States of America, and the term united connotes the idea of community. I have no problem with the ideas of individual responsibility and economic capitalism, but we've also made it this far by accepting the concept of capitalism as a term that also includes the idea of social responsibility as part of the mix. Why else would the rich and wealthy, during World War Two have agreed to tax brackets around the 90% level? They did so because they understood that we are a community, and sometimes, in order to overcome a challenge, those in the community with more, must contribute more to allow for the community to survive. In the end, all of us are served well by this tactic.
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