Can tax cuts for the richest Americans stimulate the US economy and help pay off the national debt? The top marginal tax rate in 1981 was 70 %, 50% in 1986, dropped to 31% in 1991and then increased from there to 39.6% in 2013. Trump in his 1st term lowered it back to 37%. In 1981, the national debt was just under $1 trillion. In 1986, the national debt was just over $2 trillion. In 1991, the national debt was $3.6 trillion. In 2013, the national debt was $16.7 trillion, and the debt-to-GDP ratio surpassed 100% that year. Trump began his first term with the national debt at $19.8 trillion, and finished his first term with the national debt at $28.4 trillion. As of January 2025, the national debt stood at $36.2 trillion. We often hear that the only way to deal with the debt is to cut spending, and/or raise taxes. We're not really cutting spending (DOGE finds some cuts, but Congress has yet to pass them). If we raise taxes, who can best afford them? The middle class? Why do some of the wealthiest Americans complain loudly about an increase from 37% to maybe 40%? It was 70% when Reagan became President. Reagan cut it down to 50% in his second term, and that's still way higher than any proposal being discussed now. We had a pretty good economy then.
