Amazingly, there is no accountability on the part of Republicans and they keep pushing for even more tax cuts for the wealthy.
It makes absolutely no sense that our country has to borrow money to pay for the tax cuts for the very wealthy. The old, tired argument that taxes should not be raised during a recession because it takes money out of circulation and also the other excuse: the uncertainty for the rich and the corporations are causing them to hold back on investments.
I would like for somebody to explain to me why the corporations are realizing record profits…if the uncertainty is so bad it has not stopped them from using money our government gave them to loan to the public and they turn around instead and use it for speculation and gamble with it.
I want to understand but I can’t; why is it that if the elimination of regulations and the lowering of taxes on the rich and corporations creates jobs and prosperity…prosperity for whom? We saw this happen through the Bush years and eventually our economy banked, the stock market crashed and millions of Americans lost their jobs. So is this idea to help the rich so that somehow, miraculously it will be re-invested and it will filter on down to the middle class and the poor…it doesn’t happen and it never will. We have to make them face the truth about TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS…it didn’t work and it never will.
Dave Johnson explains it very well:
A brief budget history since the 80's: We cut taxes, increased military spending and cut investment in our infrastructure, and the result was huge budget deficits and slower economic growth. Then in the 90's we raised taxes on the rich and increased investment in the country and we had big budget surpluses and the economy was growing at a good clip. Then in the 00's we again cut taxes on the rich and raised military spending and cut back on investing in the country, and went back to huge deficits ("incredibly positive news'') and feeble economic growth culminating in the financial crash.
So now, to address the Reagan/Bush deficits the DC elites -- the "serious people" -- are proposing ... wait for it ... not raising taxes on the rich, not cutting military spending and not investing in the country. Instead they want to cut back more on the safety net and on services for the middle class. There really is a brain disease loose in DC.
The justification for DC's refusal to fix a problem caused by tax cuts on the rich by restoring taxes on the rich is that you can't raise taxes on the rich during a recession. The oft-repeated idea that taxes "take money out of the economy" has become so ingrained that there is no discussion at all, it is just accepted as a given. It is "conventional wisdom." It certainly is a convenient conventional wisdom for the wealthy, but it is a fact?
Conclusion: Raising taxes on the rich will not slow the economy. In fact, every indication is that it tax cuts on the rich hurt the economy. So the real question is, why aren't these "deficit commissions" proposing that we fix a deficit problem that was caused by tax cuts for the rich by raising taxes on the rich back to where they were before the problem? It is clearly time to stop the "riverboat gamble" and restore pre-Reagan top tax rates.
MAKE REPUBLICANS ACCOUNTABLE, MAKE THE WEALTHY PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, PENALIZE CORPORATIONS WHO TAKE JOBS OVERSEAS, ELIMINATE ALL THOSE SUBSIDIES FOR VERY PROSPEROUS OIL COMPANIES.
ONE MORE THING: STOP SABOTAGING THE PRESIDENT, IT IS HURTING AMERICA!
