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thenewgreen · 4357 days ago · link · · parent · post: The TED Talk TED didn't want you to see [video]
The usual response is "then why do European countries with higher taxes on the wealthy not have a higher employment rate?"
Could it be that jobs and progressive tax rates aren't all that intertwined?
Well Germany is an economic juggenaut, but I think that is really besides the point. Producers don't create demand, which is essential to justify job creation. If you ate going to do monetary stimulus, stimulate consumers ability to do what they do best.
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thenewgreen · 4357 days ago · link ·
I would agree that if you give a middle class citizen more money, they are likely to spend it but if you give a wealthy person more money, aren't they likely to spend it too just in a different way? Investing in funds/markets that give liquidity to our financial system? -I'm no economist, I am literally asking here and not stating. Seems both could be important functions though.
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Well we are talking about the aggregate here, so a broad middle class base of consumers is going to drive more demand than a comparative handful of wealthy consumers is the idea. Wealthy individuals will of course invest money, but they are only investing in demand.
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thenewgreen · 4356 days ago · link ·
Demand is driven out of necessity first. If you have a product that people need or if you satisfy a niche that someone else doesn't you're likely doing alright even during times like these. Rising tides don't raise all ships, there will still be some that just can't make it based on the fickle nature of the consumer or a faulted business plan. You can tax the rich and give money to the middle class and it still may not save many businesses. They might just spend more at Target. There are so many factors that go in to consumerism, I'm just not sold on the fact that taxing the wealthy leads to more jobs.
For the record, I'm okay with taxing the wealthy at a higher rate in conjunction with spending cuts to get us out of this mess, but I don't think thats where "jobs" are created. I do think that's where deficits are eroded though. Again, not an economist.