Trickle Down Economics, part I

Conservatives' favorite excuse for giving the wealthy more of what they already have a disproportionate and unfair amount of, is that it is good for the economy and will create jobs. They say that rather than letting the deficit-causing Bush tax cuts expire, like they were supposed to last year, we should actually cut taxes even further on the wealthy. You see, that money is better off in the hands of  "the job creators" than "the government."

The government just wastes it on "entitlement" programs that help pay the elderly's medical bills and retirement income. It's this culture of "entitlement" that leads people to expect the government to always be giving them "free stuff." Just because those people spent a lifetime paying into those programs doesn't entitle them to feel entitled.

Personally, I'm still waiting for the government to start paying my cable/Internet/phone bill. Another four years of Obama and that dream will become a reality.

Conservatives say it's not the government's job to administer insurance programs. Why not?
Because that's socialism!
You see, anytime the government takes money from some people in order to give it to other people, that's socialism!
But, you might ask, don't private insurance companies do the same thing? For example, don't private health insurance companies take money from people who don't get sick in order to give it to people who do?

OK smart ass, but there's a big difference between the way government and private companies do that.
Private companies will take your money, subtract profit, advertising, lobbying and administrative costs, then ration out what's left according to your income level while trying to cheat you or nickel and dime you any chance they get.
See?, it's no longer socialism!

That's why only private companies should administer insurance programs.

The same thing goes for taxes. The "job creators" know how to spend that money better than the government. You don't have to worry about them wasting it on the poor or the elderly. The job creators are too busy spending it on elevators for their cars and investing it in companies that outsource their labor to countries whose people are so desperate they'll work for pennies and whose governments don't care about the health, safety and well being of those workers.

As the great Maha Rushie, Rush Limbag astutely points out, the government never ever created a single job because it doesn't make things, it just takes money from those who do and redistributes it to those who don't.
That's a function much better suited to private companies like Bain Capital.

They don't make things either. But they are experts at taking money from companies (which actually make things) that other people started and invested in and from their creditors and from the pensions and salaries of the workers who powered those companies and actually perfomed the physical act of making things. They then, just as expertly, redistribute that money to people who don't make anything -- the shareholders of Bain Capital.
Next, they take that money and hide it in overseas accounts so that they don't have to pay the "confiscatory" 15% tax rate the government imposes on capital gains.

If only we had a President who understands all these things.

Conservatives tell us that the reason people hide their money from the government is because taxes are so high. If we only lowered those rates people would stop hiding their money.
Wouldn't you say that 15% is a rather measly rate especially when we have a dangerous debt crisis
caused in large part by tax cuts?
On the other hand, 0% beats any positive integer any day of the week. For that matter, it beats any positive fraction, too.

Conservatives will bristle, veins will pop out of their foreheads and froth will accumulate at the corners of their mouths whenever they hear a Democrat say that paying taxes is patriotic. Just the other day I heard some Republicon politician say that avoiding taxes is "the American way."

I understand that patriotic conservatives who know, understand and revere the Constitution think that government taxes are theft, even though the Constitution specifically grants that power to their elected representatives in Congress, but what about their precious Military? What about their war on Islam --  I mean terrorism? Is it OK to skip out on that bill, too?
And what about the troops? Many of those lucky enough to come back alive are suffering from severe injuries and many other serious problems. Maybe the increase in the deficit that is caused by all that tax dodging is the reason that Republicon politicians are so stingy when it comes to funding programs for our vets.
But I guess that as long as you're wearing an American flag pin on your lapel you can sleep at night as you send our young men and women off to risk their lives and limbs to, ostensibly, protect the assets of the wealthy, for whom you are fighting ferociously to make sure that they pay next to nothing in taxes.

Getting back to those "job creators" who know how to spend money better than the government.
A question arises that, until recently, hardly ever gets asked and to which I have never heard a Republicon give a coherent answer to.

One of the first things George W did after assuming the Presidency was to give back much of the record
surplus (which was produced by the Clinton era tax rates) in the form of tax rebates, most of which went to the wealthiest.
The next thing he did was cut the marginal tax rates, most of which benefited the wealthiest.
Then he eliminated the estate tax and dropped the capital gains rate down to 15%.
Guess who got practically all of that dough?

What was the result of these actions?
We were told by Republicons that a lot of things were supposed to happen.
But only one of those things came to be:
tons of money were put into the hands of "the job creators", those who know best how to spend money.
But for some reason we had the absolute worst post WWII economic expansion.

Almost every indicator that measures economic performance was below the post war average, including GDP growth, tax revenue as a % of GDP and capital investment! (That's not supposed to happen according to supply side theory)
Job creation came in dead last.
The only things that were above the average, setting new record highs, were wealth, income and profits at the very top.
.
So that question which arises that the Republicons can't answer can be paraphrased by the title of  right wing Warrior Princess Monica Crowley's new book:
What the (Fuck) just happened?

In my next post I will give my answer to that question.

Oh, by the way, there was one other result of Bush's tax give-aways that just about every economist warned us about. It increased the deficit substantially.