Obama was right: To boost the economy, spread the wealth - This is supposed to be a 'bulletin'???

[Bill USA]

Last edited Fri Mar 14, 2014, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/13/obama-was-right-to-boost-the-economy-spread-the-wealth/

Two recent reports from the International Monetary Fund – one just out today – make a compelling case that not only is inequality bad for economic growth, but redistributive policies might also actually be good for it.

These reports are part of what Oxfam America’s Nick Galasso calls a new “evidence-based arsenal” of inequality research coming from the Fund that’s challenging conventional economic wisdom, which has long held that efforts to redistribute wealth undermine future growth.

The new studies are absolutely unequivocal on the issue: “Redistribution is overall pro-growth,” the authors write. “On average, across countries and over time, the things that governments have typically done to redistribute do not seem to have led to bad growth outcomes, unless they were extreme. And the resulting narrowing of inequality helped support faster and more durable growth.”

The two charts below help illustrate the relationship between inequality and GDP growth (on the left), and redistribution and GDP growth (on the right). The authors note a “strong negative relationship” between inequality and growth – as inequality increases, growth numbers decline. Turning to the redistribution chart, the nearly-flat line indicates a weak (and if anything, positive) relationship between redistributive policies and GDP.
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[font size="3"]"conventional economic wisdom, which has long held that efforts to redistribute wealth undermine future growth"[font size="=1"].. WTF!???[/font][/font]

'conventional wisdom' only if the only people you listen to are idiots like GOPer twerps such as A. "Mr. Magoo" Greenspan and "mad-mad" Milton (Friedman) whose economic thoughts were driven entirely by his perverse political confusion. Anybody with common sense knows if you put more money into the hands of people who will spend it (because they are just making enough money - after taxes (i.e. ALL taxes) - to get by) this will create more demand and thus spur job growth which will - create MORE demand - creating more job growth. And that's how you get a strong growing economy, and a LOWER unemployment rate! Because of pressure keeping wages too low and tax loop-holes built into the tax code by well compensated lobbyists operating in the service of the wealthy and powerful - individuals and of course the new Lords of the land: corporations - the tax burden is shifted from the very wealthy onto those who can't afford lobbyists to pervert the tax code.

[jwirr]

1. Where were these people when FDR was fixing the economy in exactly this way?

[Doctor_J]

2. then he probably should have prosecuted the banksters who created the Great Recession,

let the Bush Billionaires' tax cuts expire, not proposed making every man, woman and child contribute to 600 billion in annual profits to Big Insurance, and not hired Paulsen and Geithner to run the economy. It's not too late to pull the plug on TPP.

[daybranch]

3. Lots of us are guilty of letting this go on

When Obama met Joe the Plumber, he was asked if he was going to redistribute the wealth and Obam'a answer certainly could be seen as affirmative. He appeared trapped and embarassed that his positions might be seen as taking from the better off and giving to the poor. At that time, I loike many well meaning Democrats, did not want to feel that we were taking from anyone, but rather hoped that by providing opportunity for all, everyone would be better served, But I did not get it. I wanted to subscribe to that good sounding, but self -defeating maxim that a rising tide lifts all boats. At that time, I was ignorant of 3 facts. First the very rich better profitted most when the only boats rising were their own. Second economic inequality was much worse than I believed. And third, that there was no possibility that there were some reasonable republican leaders.
It reminds me of those phrases that when I was a child I thought as a child, and when I became a man I put away childish thoughts and thought as a man. No matter whether you call it maturing or Obama's preferred "evolving', it is time to recognize the inequality of wealth in this country must be fixed. I was wrong and I say it. Why is it so hard for Obama to say it and then do what he knows is right for our people. Who after al is he supposed to serve? The people or some notion of cooperation with those who want to destroy you? Say it loud and say it proud, Keynesian economics is the only thing that works. Use these principles to help our country.