Thursday, April 7, 2016

DISTORTION OF THE TRUTH (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 9/23/11)

There's another crazy article in the New York newspaper where a "ultra liberal" professor, who is very good with words, pontificates about the so called "wealthy Americans pay remarkably little in taxes". He doesn't point out that one of the main reasons may be that they have invested their money in tax free bonds. The tax free nature of the bonds is federal government policy in order to provide lower interest rates to states and municipalities. The low capital gains rate is government policy to increase investments in capital assets and to protect the savings in mutual funds, pension funds, 401ks, etc.

The writer then maliciously claims that Representative Ryan (who I often don't agree with) wants to exempt the very rich from bearing the burdens of taxes. No matter how you slice it, most of the taxes in this country are paid by the successful. In any case, so few people are in the "rich" category one has to ask, why not spend your time figuring out how to make more people rich.

Let's get it straight. No matter who you tax it takes money away from them, reduces their consumption of goods and services and drives the country further downward. Basically the attack on the few rich people increases unemployment and reduces economic activity. The silly writer talks about the top 100th of 1 percent of income distribution and how much their supposed income rose. That number can easily be affected by just a handful of people and is of no consequence. Who cares about the top 100th of 1 percent anyway?

The writer also talks about a sustained attack on organized labor. Its too bad the writer doesn't point out that almost every major industry that's been unionized has been a total catastrophe. The last time I looked organized labor was already causing dysfunction in the auto industry even before it can really recover.

As regards financial deregulation, it had very little to do with the economic disaster of 2008. Government policy, greed and a bubble were more responsible for what occurred.

I won't comment on the rest of this politically, left wing and inaccurate editorial except to tell Elizabeth Warren and the writer of this article that you should both go live in another country, in one bedroom with a shared bathroom. Then you should give the rest of what you have away, so you can pay your share to "fulfill the social contract" that you don't understand in the slightest.
 

Shepard Osherow. All Rights Reserved