Nick Hanauer: The Republican tax plan is a scam that wont create jobs, contrary to what Trump says.

[CousinIT]

The Republican tax plan is a scam—a massive and destructive financial giveaway masquerading as pro-growth tax reform. Which is why our first response must be to demand not one penny of tax cuts for big corporations and rich guys like me. In fact, if I were Benevolent Dictator, I would substantially raise taxes on myself and my wealthy friends. Why? It is the only way to sustainably grow the economy, boost productivity, increase business opportunities, and create more and better jobs.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: That’s crazy talk! For decades, rich guys like me have been selling you tax cuts on the merits of pure economic stimulus. The rich are “job creators,” we’ve told you. The more money and incentives we wealthy few have to invest in creating jobs, the better the economy is for everybody—especially you.

That’s a lie.

There is is simply no empirical evidence nor plausible economic mechanism to support the claim that cutting top tax rates spurs economic growth. When President Bill Clinton hiked taxes, the economy boomed. When President George W. Bush slashed taxes, the economy ultimately collapsed. It wasn’t until after most of the Bush tax cuts expired during the Obama administration that the post-Great Recession recovery started to pick up steam—an ongoing recovery that, as uneven as it has been, has grown into one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history.

And then, of course, there’s Kansas.

In 2012, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback famously embarked on what he called “a real live experiment,” pitting pure trickle-down theory against economic reality. Unfortunately for Kansans, reality won. Kansas has dramatically underperformed its neighboring states and the nation as a whole in economic growth and job creation since slashing taxes on individuals and corporations to as low as zero. Compare that to California, which in 2012 elicited the usual apocalyptic warnings from trickle-downers by daring to raise its top income tax rate to a highest-in-the-nation 13.3 percent. By 2015, California had the fastest-growing economy in the nation. Kansas? Dead last.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/11/republican-tax-cut-for-rich-economy-215696

[smirkymonkey]

1. Anyone who is still falling for the "trickle-down" economics bullshit is a complete

idiot. It doesn't work, it has never worked and it never will. I just can't believe there are so many people out there who just willing go along with their lies.

[DinahMoeHum]

2. Hanauer is the same guy who warned about pitchforks. . .

. . .coming for the 1%. . .

Not once, but at least twice.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_full.html

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/18/to-my-fellow-plutocrats-you-can-cure-trumpism-215347

[unblock]

3. indeed. the economy is a complicated machine with many levers and controls.

it's idiotic to pretend that there's only ever one problem (need more jobs!) and there's only ever one solution (tax cuts for the rich!)


these days, we're near full employment, so "need more jobs" isn't a big pressing issue. we could talk about the type of jobs, the hours, the benefits, where the jobs are, who gets them, skills match/retraining, etc., but just "we need more jobs" isn't really a major problem with the economy right now.

among the problems we do have are many people having too much debt (mostly the middle class), concentration of wealth in the hands of fewer ultra-rich households, and generally uninspired demand.

all of which suggest a solution geared toward getting money into the hands of the poor and middle class and away from the already super-rich.

in other words, pretty much the opposite of what benedict donnie wants.