75-03-B4
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Tax Plan #3
TranscriptWe can all own a piece of the action. It only takes an act of Congress. I'll be right back. This is the third day I've been talking about capitalism and a couple of ideas that could make all of us capitalists. When my old friend Congressman H.R. Charlie Gross of Iowa retired last year, he gave his colleagues a farewell address that challenged every one of them to start thinking about the next generation instead of the next election. For a quarter of a century he's been the conscience of the Congress, pleading constantly for statesmanship and responsibility. Very seldom did they support him in overwhelming numbers but in their hearts every one of them knew he was dead right and they were dead wrong. In that final address he presented a simple idea that could resolve most of our problems and make this nation once again the golden hope of all mankind. The idea he presented was not his. It was the work of many distinguished scholars and men successful in industrial America. It's known as N.D.P., the National Dividend Plan. As I told you yesterday, it's a plan whereby government, which is collecting in taxes about half the profits of all U.S. corporations, would give that money back directly to the people, with each registered voters sharing the benefits of free enterprise. I'm sure yesterday's broadcast must have left you with a few questions. Well let me see if I can give you some additional facts and answer some of those questions. First of all, N.D.P. will not cause great disruption or damage to the necessary functions of the federal government. It would be phased into operation over a five-year period, twenty percent a year. The present corporation tax accounts for about fifteen percent of total federal revenue. So each year for five years, the reduction would be one-fifth of that or about three percent. Now normally federal revenues grow by about nine percent a year, just from the growth of the economy. So even though the government would be giving to all the people the corporation tax, government would still have an increase in revenue each year. In addition to this normal growth rate in revenue, there would be an additional stimulant because of the money freed for investment and spending. This not only stimulates more economic activity in the private sector, it also generates even more tax revenues for government. At the same time, many government programs could be reduced and some completely eliminated. Every family would be receiving tax-free funds based on the number of registered voters in the family. This would eliminate the need for many supplemental aid programs and the bureaucracies that supervise them. The wealth of a nation is measured by the industry it creates and the goods it produces, for the most part government spending does neither. On the other hand increased activity in the private sector does. It has a multiplier effect. The National Dividend Plan would involve distribution of earned dollars. Dollars the government is taking in taxes from private industry and theoretically already spending on our behalf. The new plan calls instead for letting each American spend his share of those dollars the way he chooses. Our Congressmen know of the plan, Thanks to former Congressman Gross. Now it's up to us to see that Congress knows that we know it. Our job is not so much to make Congress see the light, as to make them feel the heat. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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