por admin » Lun Mar 21, 2011 9:53 pm
Steve Forbes
Impuestos mas bajos y un dolar fuerte podrian impulsar el crecimiento una vez mas
Hoy dia, la Fundacion Presidencial del Presidente Reagan, el Manhattan Institute y el Wall Street Journal daran un seminario concerniente a el legado economico del Ronald Reagan. Este reunion no podria darse en un momento mas apropiado.
Regan llego a la Casa Blanca y confronto una economia tan problematica como la de ahora - por un lado teniamos un alto desempleo, unos intereses altisimos y catastroficos (18% para las hipotecas) y un stock market que en terminos reales habia caido 60% de sus niveles de mediados de los 60s. Cuando el dejo la presidencia 8 anios mas tarde, US se habia convertido en el milagro de su economia: se crearon 18 millones de empleos nuevos; Silicon Valley florecio, convirtiendose el centro de la innovacion; y el stock market experimento una carrera que, a pesar de las dramaticas alzas y bajas, no termino si no hasta cuando empezo el siglo XXI, despues que el Dow Jones se expandio 15 veces su tamanio. La expansion de la economia de US excedio el tamnio entero del oeste de Alemania, en ese entonces la tercera economia en el mundo.
Como fue que ocurrio todo esto? Podriamos decir que todo empezo en un rest. en Washington en 1974. Una nocje de Diciembre, el Professor de la Universidad de Chicago Art Laffer de 34 anios de edad - dibujo una curva - ahora lengedaria - en una servilleta de cocktail para ilustrar a un grupo de asesores del presidente Ford por que una propuesta de subir los impuestos no incrementaria la recoleccion de impuestos para el gobierno. Mr. Laffer aseguro que los grandes recortes de impuestos estimularian la economia y ultimadamente conllevaria a una mayor recoleccion de impuestos para el gobierno. Contrariamente, el aumento de impuestos haria que los recepcion de impuestos por parte del gobierno bajara debajo de las expectativas debido a una economia debil.
La curva de Laffer llevo a una mayor recoleccion de impuestos, pero la gente de Ford no acepto la conclusion de que las grandes reducciones de impuestos era lo unico que la economia necesitaba. Sin embargo, Reagan se reunio con Mr. Laffer y con otro pensadores como el anios despues, Reagan rapidamente absorvio el mensaje de los fundamentos de la Curva de Laffer.
El concepto de que una economia libre de barreras, regulaciones del gobierno e impuestos crearia el mayro crecimiento de la economia en un ambiente favorable era simplemente radical. Despues de juramentar como presidente, Reagan se dio cuenta que convencer a los americanos de los beneficios de la economia basada en la oferta (supply economics): bajos impuestos, menos regulacion y menos gasto de gobierno, asi como una politica momentaria enfocada en controlar la terca inflacion.
El programa de Reagan tuvo un resonado exito. El centro de su politica fue el Economic Recovery Tax Act de 1981, el cual dramaticamente recorto lso impuestos para todos. El manejo el programa durante los primeros ocho meses de su gobierno con el apoyo de ambos partidos en un Congreso dividido.
Sus criticos, decian que Reagan era financieramente irresponsable, pero el presidente se mantuvo en su posicion. Ona vez que los recortes fueron implementados y la batalla contra la inflacion fue ganada, la economia resurgio como un cohete. Los logros de Reagan pusieron los cimientos para un gran boom, a largo plazo en US y en el resto del mundo que no termino si no hasta el crash del 2007. (Si hubieron periodos de manor crecimiento antes de ese anio, pero nada comparado con el cash del 2007)
Al mismo tiempo, en Inglaterra Margaret Thatcher, hizo lo mismo, casi de la noche a la maniana, ese pais paso de ser la mas debil a ser una de las mas dinamicas.
Desafortunadamente, Reagan no pudo reinar en el gasto domestico y muchas de sus reformas fueron revocadas por sus sucesores. Los politicos de Washington volvieron a sus malos habitos, aumentaron los impuestos creando nuevos niveles, excepciones, deducciones, etc, etc, excepciones para intereses especiales. Y la crucial importancia del dolar se olvido durante una decada, con terribles resultados. Hoy dia una vez mas estamos nuevamente con las enfermedades de la epoca de Carter, donde tenemos que aceptar un anormal alto desempleo y la nocion de que imprimer mas dolares es la manera de impulsar a la economia.
Y ahora Barack Obama en su discurso de Union address menciono algunas frases de Reagan como :El futuro esta alli para ganarlo, Pero para ganarlo no podemos quedarnos de brazos cruzados, tenemos que tumbar las barreras que estan en nuestro camino para alcanzar el exito. Nos dijeron que Obama se habia reunido con antiguos asesores de Reagan y que hasta haia leido la biografia de Reagan escrita por Lou Cannon en sus vacaciones de invierno.
Es verdad que los dos hombres llegaron a la presidencia durante urbulencias economicas. Pero alli se acaban las similitudes.
Reagan acogio agresivamente la economia de los libres mercados con supply side principios que permitieron a la economia reconstruir y expandir creativamente y elevar el standard de vida. En contraste Obama ha expandido los poderes del gobierno sobre nosotros y al gobierno en si a una escala nunca vista durante tiempos de paz en toda su historia. El presidente Reagan entendio, y fervientemente creia en el espiritu del empresariado americano. Hasta ahora, el presidente Obama no nos ha mostrado que el lo hace.
Mr. Obama todavia tiene tiempo para aprender las verdaderas lecciones que dejo Reagan. Las aprendera?
Mr. Forbes, chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Media, is co-author of "How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy" (Crown Business, 2009). He is also a trustee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.
Reagan's Legacy and the Current Malaise
Lower taxes and a strong dollar could spur growth once again.
By STEVE FORBES
Today, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Manhattan Institute and The Wall Street Journal will host a morning seminar concerning the economic legacy of Ronald Reagan. The get-together couldn't be timelier.
Reagan came into the White House facing an economy as troubled as ours—one that had even higher unemployment, catastrophic interest rates (18% for mortgages) and a stock market that in real terms had fallen 60% from its mid-1960s levels. When he left office eight years later, the U.S. had become an economic miracle: 18 million new jobs had been created; Silicon Valley had blossomed, becoming a global symbol for innovation; and the stock market was experiencing a bull run that, despite dramatic ups and downs, didn't end until the turn of the 21st century, after the Dow had expanded 15-fold. The expansion of the U.S. economy exceeded the entire size of West Germany's economy, then the world's third-largest.
How did this happen? You could make the case that Reagan's economic miracle had its origins at a Washington, D.C., restaurant in 1974. That December night, 34-year-old University of Chicago professor, Art Laffer, scribbled a single—and now legendary—curve on a cocktail napkin to illustrate to a group of President Ford's advisers why a proposed plan to raise taxes would not increase government revenues. Mr. Laffer posited that deep cuts in existing tax rates would stimulate the economy and ultimately lead to far higher government revenues. Conversely, increase the tax burden and government receipts would fall below expectations because of a weaker economy.
Mr. Laffer's curve headed off the tax boost, but the Ford people did not accept the conclusion that big reductions in tax rates were just what the anemic U.S. economy needed. However, when Reagan met with Mr. Laffer and other like-minded thinkers several years later, he quickly grasped the Laffer Curve's fundamental message.
The concept that a free market unencumbered by barriers, government regulation and taxation will create the most growth-friendly economic environment was simple but radical. After taking the oath of office, Reagan went to work to convince the American people of the benefits of supply-side economics: lower taxes, less regulation, and less government spending, as well as a monetary policy focused on ridding us of the seemingly incurable disease of ever-rising inflation.
Reagan's program was a resounding success. Its centerpiece was the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which dramatically cut income tax rates for everyone. He managed to pass the bill during his first eight months in office, with bipartisan support in a divided Congress.
President Reagan holds an oversized replica of an income tax form, June 13, 1985.
.Critics howled that Reagan was being financially irresponsible, but the president pressed on. Once his cuts were fully phased-in and the hard fight against inflation was won, the economy took off like a rocket. Reagan's achievements set up a great, long boom in the U.S. and the world that didn't end until the economic crash in 2007. (Yes, there were periods of slower growth rates before that year, but none can be compared to the crash of 2007.)
At the same time, Reagan's British counterpart, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was accomplishing similar feats by taking an axe to Britain's draconian tax system. Almost overnight, Britain went from being Europe's economic weak link to being the continent's most vibrant large economy.
Unfortunately, Reagan was unable to permanently rein in domestic spending and many of his reforms were undone by his successors. Washington politicians slid back into their bad habits, cluttering the tax code with new brackets, exemptions, deductions, phase-ins, carve-outs and special breaks for special interests. And the crucial importance of a strong dollar has been forgotten during the last decade, with terrible results. Today we are once again beset by a Carter-esque malaise, wherein we must accept abnormally high unemployment and the notion that printing more dollars is the way to recovery.
Yet Barack Obama's 2011 State of the Union address was sprinkled with Reagan-like phrases, full of the 40th president's trademark confidence. "The future is ours to win," Mr. Obama said. "But to go there, we can't just stand still." He pledged to "knock down barriers that stand in the way of [American companies'] success." We were told that the president had held meetings with Reagan administration officials, and that he'd even read Lou Cannon's biography of Reagan during his winter vacation.
It's true that both men came into office facing turbulent economies. But there the similarities end.
Reagan aggressively embraced free-market, supply-side principles that empowered the American people to rebuild and creatively expand our economy and standard of living. In contrast, the Obama administration has expanded the powers of government over us and our economy on a scale never before seen in peacetime American history. President Reagan understood, and fervently believed in, the American spirit of free enterprise. So far, President Obama hasn't shown that he does.
Mr. Obama still has time to learn the real lessons of Reagan's success. Will he?
Mr. Forbes, chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Media, is co-author of "How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy" (Crown Business, 2009). He is also a trustee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.