10-23-2017, 12:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-23-2017, 12:02 PM by Eric the Green.)
The Republicans on a 51-49 vote have brought back supply-side, trickle-down economics, yet again, adhering to the Reagan philosophy that government is the problem, not the solution, that government spending must be reduced for social, cultural and environmental needs, increased for the military instead, with a huge new debt to be passed on to future generations, in the false hope that the tax cuts will spur growth that will make up for the new debt.
But it doesn't work. Under Reagan, the upper 10% and especially the upper 1% experienced growth and prosperity, which pushed up the GNP statistic, but everyone else experienced economic stagnation and/or decline. Under W. Bush, it didn't even boost the GNP. Trickle-down had already failed under Herbert Hoover and his two predecessors. But Republicans believe in it as a holy grail and are pushing it again under Trump. Having approved the budget, it looks likely that the tax cuts will pass too.
Unlike what Classic Xer may assume, I am not a booster of exorbitant taxes. I think they should be reasonable, even on the rich, and not be expropriations to make everyone equal. I don't even think Bernie Sanders goes anywhere near that far. We should approve of how much we pay, and what the money goes for, in order to support taxes.
But we have had 40 years of tax cuts now. Taxes are already low enough. All Trump's tax cuts do is repeal the extra 4% that Obama got passed on the richest Americans. This has helped hold down the deficit in recent years. Having only 3 tax brackets will likely mean that many middle class people pay more, especially among the lower middle class. And these cuts are of no value to the poorer people. They benefited from the government spending that is being cut instead. In effect then, the poorer will be paying more, as they lose programs and subsidies. The community as a whole will lose because of cuts to valuable programs that enhance the value of communities.
Government is not inherently evil, as libertarians assume. It is the way everyone is required and enabled to contribute to the nation and do its business, with appropriate accommodations and exceptions, according to the peoples' will. Government employees are not dependents; they are doing good and necessary work, and the jobs and income they get stimulates the economy. Government workers do not outsource, automate and conglomerate the government.
Government spending stimulates the economy. Communities get valuable infrastructure and education, and health benefits from regulating pollution and climate change. Jobs are created through government investment in new industries that are in the national interest. The poorer people spend the benefits they get, which stimulates the economy, while the rich do not spend the tax savings they get from supply-side tax cuts. They buy luxuries for themselves, which stimulate few industries. They also continue to fire employees through consolidation, automation and outsourcing. Thus, they are not "job creaters," for the most part, as Ryan and Company assume-- following as they do Ayn Rand, Mises, Friedman at al.. Under this corporate, trickle-down economic structure that we have today, the number of poor and unemployed is increasing, as jobs are shipped overseas and decreased through automation and consolidation. This retards the economy, and does not stimulate it.
But by 51-49, the people spoke, and Supply Side is their will. Supply side will fail again. Will we ever learn?
But it doesn't work. Under Reagan, the upper 10% and especially the upper 1% experienced growth and prosperity, which pushed up the GNP statistic, but everyone else experienced economic stagnation and/or decline. Under W. Bush, it didn't even boost the GNP. Trickle-down had already failed under Herbert Hoover and his two predecessors. But Republicans believe in it as a holy grail and are pushing it again under Trump. Having approved the budget, it looks likely that the tax cuts will pass too.
Unlike what Classic Xer may assume, I am not a booster of exorbitant taxes. I think they should be reasonable, even on the rich, and not be expropriations to make everyone equal. I don't even think Bernie Sanders goes anywhere near that far. We should approve of how much we pay, and what the money goes for, in order to support taxes.
But we have had 40 years of tax cuts now. Taxes are already low enough. All Trump's tax cuts do is repeal the extra 4% that Obama got passed on the richest Americans. This has helped hold down the deficit in recent years. Having only 3 tax brackets will likely mean that many middle class people pay more, especially among the lower middle class. And these cuts are of no value to the poorer people. They benefited from the government spending that is being cut instead. In effect then, the poorer will be paying more, as they lose programs and subsidies. The community as a whole will lose because of cuts to valuable programs that enhance the value of communities.
Government is not inherently evil, as libertarians assume. It is the way everyone is required and enabled to contribute to the nation and do its business, with appropriate accommodations and exceptions, according to the peoples' will. Government employees are not dependents; they are doing good and necessary work, and the jobs and income they get stimulates the economy. Government workers do not outsource, automate and conglomerate the government.
Government spending stimulates the economy. Communities get valuable infrastructure and education, and health benefits from regulating pollution and climate change. Jobs are created through government investment in new industries that are in the national interest. The poorer people spend the benefits they get, which stimulates the economy, while the rich do not spend the tax savings they get from supply-side tax cuts. They buy luxuries for themselves, which stimulate few industries. They also continue to fire employees through consolidation, automation and outsourcing. Thus, they are not "job creaters," for the most part, as Ryan and Company assume-- following as they do Ayn Rand, Mises, Friedman at al.. Under this corporate, trickle-down economic structure that we have today, the number of poor and unemployed is increasing, as jobs are shipped overseas and decreased through automation and consolidation. This retards the economy, and does not stimulate it.
But by 51-49, the people spoke, and Supply Side is their will. Supply side will fail again. Will we ever learn?