Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Talking points: 'Job creators', 'class warfare'

By early August, the so-called "debt crisis" will fade from memory like our Iraqatastrophe.

We'll wonder what the fuss was all about.

Does any American really care about our national debt?

If Americans did care about it, we would end our wars, slash the arms-procurement budget, make painful changes to Medicare and Social Security, and raise taxes on the rich.

But, we won't do those things, because we depend on these things. Like it or not, our economy is dependent upon government spending, either directly through government programs or, indirectly, through subsidies and corporate welfare.

Plus, the rich are entitled to their tax cuts and we know that entitlements can't be touched.

One of the Republican talking points is that the super rich are "job creators" and taxing them a penny more would result in 10 percent unemployment forever.

Of course, there is no fact to back up this bogus claim. As noted before, the only jobs hedge-fund managers created were in prostitution and drug trafficking. It's hard to build a sustainable economy on those two volatile industries.

Nevada has tried and it has led to the highest unemployment rate in the country. Plus, it has no state income tax, so that can't even be cut.

The mere mention of ending the Bush tax cuts, which means the marginal tax rate would rise back to 39 percent from 35 percent, provokes the GOP talking point of "class warfare."

Yo, that war ended decades ago.

The rich won. It wasn't much of a contest. The wehrmact of the wealthy moved across the country with amazing speed and efficiency, devastating huge swaths of the economic landscape.

This war machine even convinced much of the media to use this talking point as often as possible to describe how tough the rich have it these days.

Please, enough of the talking points. We get it, lawmakers. You don't want to do anything because it may negatively affect your re-election prospects.

Well, that's why we are where we are.

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