Take Action Now to Stop Tax Increases

Dear Freedom Action Activist,

Steep economic recessions are usually followed by strong recoveries. Not this time. The nosedive that started with the Wall Street panic and bailout in 2008 is over, but the economy is just bumping along with few signs of growth. Unemployment is stuck above 9%. People are hurting all across the country.

The reason is simple: the laws passed by the Democratic Congress and the policies pursued by both the Bush and Obama Administrations are designed to keep us in perpetual economic stagnation. Massive deficits are just the tip of the iceberg. Healthcare reform, banking reform, the Federal Reserve’s policies, and policies designed to raise energy prices are all helping to raise the cost of doing business and to create uncertainty about the future.

Higher costs and uncertainty mean that investors are afraid to invest their money in the United States either to expand or to create new businesses. The risks are too high and the chances of earning a profit are too low.

To get the American economy moving again, action is necessary on three fronts: taxes, spending, and regulations. Last week, I wrote to ask you to begin taking action in the lame duck session of Congress on federal spending (and thanks to everyone who took action). I am writing to you this week to urge you to take action on another front—taxes.

The tax cuts that Congress passed with the strong support of President Bush in 2001 and 2003 are due to expire on January 1st. When taxes go up, people have less money to spend and to invest. That’s a sure recipe for lower growth and perhaps another recession before we’ve begun to climb out of the last one.

It is therefore imperative for the economic future of our country that the lame duck session of Congress acts now to stop taxes from going up on January 1st. But President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are dragging their heels. They seem not to understand that Democrats lost the election because of their handling of the economy. And so they are trying to do a deal that will extend some but not all the tax cuts and only for a few years.

It’s time to light a fire under the lame duck Congress. Freedom Action urges you to send an e-mail to your Representative and two Senators today that tells them to do three things on taxes:

1. Don’t let any taxes increase on January 1, 2011;
2. Extend all the tax cuts permanently;
3. Abolish the death (or inheritance) tax permanently.

You can send your message to Congress by clicking here. Let them know how important this is.

Yours for freedom and prosperity,

Myron Ebell

Director

Freedom Action