Kennedy, Reagan, Bush, Obama: A History of the Tax Cut from The Takeaway: Story of the Day by feedback@thetakeaway.org (Public Radio International and WNYC Radio)

The Bush-era tax cuts will be high on the agenda when the lame duck Congress reconvenes today. The cuts are scheduled to expire next year, but Republicans are pushing for the extension of both the "middle class" breaks, as well as those for couples earning more than $250,000 a year. They cite the huge budget deficit and a shaky economy as reasons to keep the cuts. Similar arguments led to prior historic tax cuts, from two politicians of different eras, parties and temperaments: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Joining us to analyse whether the fallout from those previous tax cuts could be an indicator of success this time around is Joel Slemrod, professor of economics at the University of Michigan and author of “Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen’s Guide to the Debate over Taxes." Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains the upcoming debate in Congress to get some or all of the tax cuts extended before January and the new Congress.

Download the podcast here. See also: Taxing Ourselves, 4th Edition: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes, Do Taxes Matter?: The Impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Taxing Ourselves - 2nd Edition: A Citizen's Guide to the Great Debate over Tax Reform