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I think he is pretty much on the button, especially in the current situation. If the economy is way below capacity there is no sense in giving "job creators" more capital, there is nothing productive for them to do with it. There might be an argument for giving the rich more money when an economy is operating below capacity because of a lack of capital, but that is in no way the situation we are facing right now, or a situation we have faced since the dollar became the standard international currency.
Consumers are the driving force behind business, it's strange to me how business has masquerade so long as the driving force of the economy.
It's a joke. Our business is slow right now. You could give our owner a million dollar check and it's not going to make more customers show up and need what we are selling.
He can so many Republicans be so very wrong on something as fundamental and basic as consumer demand. I guess that's what religion does to you.
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thenewgreen · 4352 days ago · link ·
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?
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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 · 4352 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 · 4351 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.