Are the Rich going to "take their toys and go home"?

In response to Public to Lawmakers: End Tax Cuts for the Rich, sweartogod replies:

Who creates jobs? The poor do not. I am poor and cannot create any jobs. It seems to me that the people who have money create jobs. By taxing them is there no incentive to create jobs. Like Donald Trump says if they punish me I will sit and do nothing.

This is a common form of blackmail threat leveled by the rich- do what I say or I'll withdraw my investment from society. I need more "incentives" to invest.

I answered:

Those who possess money do not need "incentives" to create jobs- hiring workers and selling the products they produce is the only way that they can "make" money. This may be done by loaning their money to a bank, by loaning it to a corporation through the stock market, by loaning it to the government through buying bonds, or by direct investment.

In periods of crisis, they tend to become very conservative- settling for living off their riches and not making any money for a while. This is where the role of government as a "job creator" comes in. By spreading out the risk of the needed reinvestment (and by freeing up more money to those who must spend it on the things they need to live)- the government is able to soften the impact of the kind of devastating crises that existed before WWII.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when the sheer greed of the rich has blinded them to the entire progress of US governmental policy over the past 80 years. They have spent exorbitant amounts of money to fund thinly-veiled propaganda efforts around why they should not have to give even a small proportion of their money to the government- for their own good as much as anyone else's.

While these anti-tax policies might be good for the rich on an individual level, they spell disaster for society when implemented broadly, and the Trump quote is nothing more than an attempt at blackmail.

Please, Brother, study this issue carefully and with all the attention it deserves. You will find out that these lies are a dangerous poison.

Regards,
Sam

Are the Rich the best custodians of society?

In response to:
"Tax the Rich, Corporations, and..." You people always fall for that one. @ How Your Government Sees it... blog

While [what you say] sounds quite good- indeed, downright humanitarian- I'm afraid that you are being taken in by a well-funded group of hucksters. These are the very arguments by which the "super rich" wish to further reduce their tax burdens.

The single grain of truth to what you say lies in the downward definition of the "wealthy" that is pushed by Clinton-style democrats. In fact, the most lasting tax adjustment Clinton made was the expansion of the payroll tax, which increased the burden on hard-working people a great deal during his tenure (and has been retained since).

However, "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." This fact, which might be used to reduce the redistribution of wealth from the poor to the wealthy (yes- did you know that this is the main "redistribution" which now occurs?), is used to give cover to shabby half-truths by bought-and-paid-for snake-oil salesman like Dr. Jorgan.

For instance, the argument against the alternative minimum tax- which provided "the people" a defense against the "loopholes" used by the rich- was defeated by the clever sophistry of such "thinkers."

In essence, the argument of Jorgan and his ilk boils down to this: being rich is evidence that you are better than everyone else, therefore the rich should be given as much money as possible. That this notion can still be believed after the massive scams that have been revealed over the last 10 years, from Enron and Worldcom to Madoff and Goldman, is evidence of just how powerful the hold of greed and deceit is over the minds of American.

I once was blind, but now I see. I hope the same may hold true for you.

Regards,
Sam