Tax You Very Much

FDR has a long-standing reputation for having strongly supported the "working man". And, yes, in many ways, that's probably truthful. But it wasn't at all completely the case. For instance, in 1929, the total percentage of revenue that came to the federal government via excise taxes (a highly regressive tax that disproportionately hammers the poor) was just a scant 19% (the other 81% coming in the form of individual and corporate income taxes). By 1936 (the end of FDR's first term), the percentage had grown to a robust 52%. And, while, yes, by 1940, he did get it down to 47%, that's still a massive 250% increase......................................................................................................Now, to be fair, it was actually Herbert Hoover (not exactly an icon to the right, it must be stated) who began this trend. But Mr. Hoover only brought the percentage of total revenue coming from excise taxes to 30%. It was FDR who eventually brought this percentage up to monstrous 61% (undoubtedly a crushing burden on the working poor) by 1934. That, to me, friends, doesn't at all sound like a compassionate policy, period.