I don't think this point of view is going to be some great insight to many who visit DailyKos. But one reason I think it's worth a post is because of who is making the point. Below is an speech that was considered too controversial to post at www.ted.com
Another reason it is worth a post is that I think the biggest problem with economics these days is you have a huge number of people, including most all Republicans, even very poor ones, who simply believe the 'big lie' from the Republicans about the relationship between government and economic growth. Most people don't understand economics, so it's easy to fall prey to arguments like: 'We've all seen inefficient government, look at the DMV line ups. So who knows how to spend your money better, you or the government?' Case closed I guess, right?
These are the kind of arguments we need combat. And we are only going to do it by pointing to rich people who agree and with equally simple arguments. I think. We need to dumb it down! Lets try things like:
- The US economy grew best in the 1950s and 1960s when top marginal rates were 70%-90%
- If you don't think government spending can end a depression, who do you think borrowed to finance WWII?
- The US is a leader in aviation today because big government made the investment in the early 1940s
- Like in the 1950s and 1960s - middle class incomes grow fastest when government recycles money into things like education and infrastructure
When the republicans talk about 'going back' these days, they are talking about going back to the misery of the early 1900s. We need to point to the 50s and 60s.
Forget the rich for a minute - on a side note the implied disloyalty to America of some of the right wing arguments directed at MIDDLE CLASS voters always amazes me. These people claim to love their country, claim to care about the deficit, and yet won't give up ANYTHING to help their country. They are essentially saying: "Give up my expensive cell phone contract for a cheaper one? Or give up my right to drive an expensive car in favor of a cheaper one? Hell no, screw the government, screw the country, I want my cheap crap and I can't cut back even 3 or 4% to pay higher taxes to help America".
Anyhow - on to the rich people, who, as we all know, set the agenda in this country: From the link below: "...Nick Hanauer. He's a venture capitalist from Seattle who was the first non-family investor in Amazon.com. Today he's a very rich man. And, somewhat jarringly, he's screaming to anyone who will listen that he, and other wealthy innovators like him, doesn't create jobs. The middle class does - and its decline threatens everyone in America, from the innovators on down. "
Link to the transcript of the speech:
http://roundtable.nationaljournal.com/...
It's a very short speech but I have pasted a few notable passages and a conclusion below:
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"If taxes on the rich go up, job creation will go down.
This idea is an article of faith for republicans and seldom challenged by democrats and has shaped much of today's economic landscape."
...
"Anyone who's ever run a business knows that hiring more people is a capitalists course of last resort, something we do only when increasing customer demand requires it. In this sense, calling ourselves job creators isn't just inaccurate, it's disingenuous."
...
"That's why I can say with confidence that rich people don't create jobs, nor do businesses, large or small. What does lead to more employment is a "circle of life" like feedback loop between customers and businesses. And only consumers can set in motion this virtuous cycle of increasing demand and hiring. In this sense, an ordinary middle-class consumer is far more of a job creator than a capitalist like me. "
...
"Since 1980 the share of income for the richest Americans has more than tripled while effective tax rates have declined by close to 50%.
If it were true that lower tax rates and more wealth for the wealthy would lead to more job creation, then today we would be drowning in jobs. And yet unemployment and under-employment is at record highs."
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So what am I really saying here? I thought this post would just be about taxes on the rich, but I think the problem is bigger than that. We all need to consume a little less.
Yes, rich people need to pay taxes, but taxes on the middle class need to go up too. The problem is not so big that fairly modest adjustments by the upper 50% can't turn this country around. This is because as a nation we need to reduce our deficit, consume less and both invest more and take care of our poor.
Ideally we would have paid down our national debt during the good years of the 2000s, but we didn't, so here we are. How about a gasoline tax, or a national VAT with refunds for the poorest among us, while keeping income taxes in place! Yes, I am calling for higher taxes on everyone who is not poor.
This is not a popular position. Higher taxes will hurt consumer spending and hurt growth, but I think the time to start some adjustments is now, because I am not convinced that we shall see such wonderful growth in the future that it will ever be easy. And in any case, we all know that when times are good, the Republican response to raising taxes will be: "Hey times are good, do you want to ruin this wonderful economy by raising taxes now?" So big austerity for the government good, but even a little austerity for individuals is bad? At some point as individuals the very rich and the upper 50% are going to have to suck it up and that's not popular... but both can be sold, if only we had the courage to try.
7:35 AM PT: Here's another DailyKos post on the same topic with a link to encourage TED to publish the speech
http://www.dailykos.com/...
9:40 AM PT: UPDATE #2 Here are the slides from the presentation:
http://www.businessinsider.com/...