Obamacare and Herbert Hoover

Obamacare

Many people aren’t aware that Obamacare will implement a cap on flexible spending account deductions.

Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs John Berlau comments.

“It won’t be until the beginning of 2013 that most of the public will know that one of the things in the bill was a cap on flex account deductions, which are currently unlimited, to just $2,500 per year. Especially for large families, this is in effect a marginal tax hike on health expenses of as much as 40 percent!This is one of the gimmicky “revenue enhancements” that allows Obamacare supporters to say it reduces the deficit. Other accounting trick include the now-repealed 1099 mandate, which required firms to report to send a form to the IRS everytime they bought a good or service valued at $600 or more.”

Herbert Hoover

President Obama has said that Herbert Hoover cut taxes on the rick and exascerbated the Great Depression—but he’s wrong.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader explains.

“Data from the White House’s own website shows that Hoover increased, rather than cut, spending in the Great Depression, and ran up deficits that were huge by historical standards.

That is illustrated in Table 1.1 on page 21 of a document on the White House’s website, a document entitled, ‘Historical Tables: Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009.’ It shows that Hoover increased the federal budget from $3.1 billion in 1929, the year he took office (and the Great Depression began), to $4.7 billion in 1932, his last full year in office, and $4.6 billion in 1933, the year he left office. The budget deficit went from a surplus in 1928 to a deficit of $2.7 billion in 1932. Table 1.2 on page 24 of that document shows that government spending and deficits rose considerably as a percentage of the economy under Hoover. (See Table 1.2, ‘Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (–) As Percentages of GDP: 1930-2013)’ and Table 1.1, ‘Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (–): 1789–2013)’). By 1932, the government was spending more than $2 for every dollar that it took in.”