There's a difference between millionaire "profits" and millionaire "earnings". Those rich individuals whose income comes through "profits" do so based on the success or failure of their business venture(s). Those rich individuals whose income comes through "earnings" do so based on their investments. It's really a tax code issue based moreso on which revenue stream "income" is derived from. But I digress...
Short-selling has become the norm on Wall Street during this economic downturn. I don't begruge them; I just wish I could have gotten into the game when I had the chance. But other more important matters took priority.
The way I see it there are very few wealthy individuals who truly care about the plight of those beneath them. We've continued to hear the argument from Conservatives making the claim the if you don't tax the wealthy too much let alone at all, they'll use their wealth to start, grow or expand their businesses and in so doing that wealth dispersment will trickle-down to everything and everyone else. Manufacturing will stay in America, consumer goods and services will remain affordable, and incomes for the working class will stay at or near "cost-of-living" especially if unions are kept out of the way. But what has happened over the last 3-8 years?
Labor union membership has dwindled. Manufacturing jobs have left this country in record numbers; a few have begun to come back, but not enough of them are doing so fast enough. Incomes have remained flat while the cost of living has drastically increased, i.e., gas, groceries, clothing, various routine services, health care, prescription medicines. Working-class individuals have either lost their jobs or are barely hanging on. And those who still have jobs are having to do more with less. Yet, I keep hearing this mixed message coming from Republican leaders.
We have a $14 trillion deficit, we need to reduce government spending, we're going to leave a legacy of debt to our children and grandchildren, many jobs that left are never coming back, if we raise taxes we kill jobs. That last part makes me laugh!!
THERE ARE NO JOBS OUT THERE TO KILL! So, whether you raise taxes or not it's not going to matter! But what WILL matter is we need to rethink, refocus, retool, reinvest in our country and STOP sending these messages of DOOM AND GLOOM at every turn. STOP being so obstructionist and start finding common sense solutions to our nation's economic problems.
I understand the call to cut spending. It is the responsible thing to do when you're in debt. BUT...
I also understand that old attage: "It takes money to make money!" To that, our representatives in Congress at all levels need to do a much better job of trying to find ways to lift this country out of its economic down-turn. Otherwise, we just may find ourselves in the exact same position as Greece and several other Middle-Eastern countries. I think investing in new technology is the smart thing to do. No, it won't turn things around immediately, but it should put our country on a better footing to put today's technological breakthroughs in play in the near future. I also believe some tax cuts are in order that will stimulate job growth. However, I also believe some taxes will have to be raised if we are to pay down our national debt. Currently, we're focused strictly on paying the interest on the debt, but just as with a home loan if you don't start paying down the priciple, you'll never clear the debt fast enough. As such, what Republicans are calling for is a smoke screen - don't raise taxes because the government already raises enough revenue (via income tax collection and other investments, i.e., T-Bills/bonds) to make our interest payment on the debt.
INTEREST payment...not the priciple on the debt, just the interest we owe. Meaning the debt will remain relatively high. When I hear that we should "live within our means," I apply that concept to my own household and I quickly realize that there are but two ways to pay-off my debts (if any; fortunately, I have very little debt to worry about): a) make a budget and stick to it until my debts are paid in full; or b) find another revenue source (i.e., get a 2nd-job delivering pizzas if I have to) and use the additional income and apply it toward my debts. What we're really hearing from Republicans is Option #1 - make a budget, stick to it, pay down the debt over time. This tells me that Republicans really aren't that concerned about paying off our debt; they only care about balancing our budget - bring spending down to levels equal to or below what we as a nation take in in revenue. It is the right thing to do, but staying with such an approach will mean we can't do anything else.
We won't be able to invest in anything and our best investment is and always shall be "our people". This is the #1 thing that drives me crazy about stauch Republicans and even these so-called Blue-Dog (or Reagan) Democrats. They go out of their way to protect the few fat cats among us when so many Americans are hurting in so many ways. The class of people who can help turn this country around and are very eager to do so, IMHO, are being ignored, tuned out, left to fend for themselves. It's the same fight from the 1930's being played out before us all over again.
Sorry about the rant, but I just don't think one side of the political divide is being honest w/the American people. If folks would only learn to filter out the white noise and learn about the issues themselves and stop listening to the talking heads and the pundits this country would be so much more better off. The political games truly have to :stop:.