Scrap Trickle-Down

Let's face it: Corporate fatcats are not going to share the money they stole from productive workers. Well, they share some with politicians and the media, but none makes it back to the population, except maybe in the form of unemployment checks.

Trickle-down doesn't work. Executives and Board Members don't have the discipline to see that the companies, workers, and America thrives. It's time to give these Corporate fatcats an excuse to not take home giant paychecks: a 90% sin tax on all income over $2million/year.

The problem is, the media and politicians are bought-and-paid-for, but think that they are witnessing trickle-down in action: "We gave tax cuts, and now we are selling more ads. Hooray, trickle-down works." But it doesn't.

But the Media wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks, "If we suggest that Executives need a salary cap, they might not buy ads anymore. Let's take a softer approach to trickle-down." The Politicians wake up in the middle of the night and think, "If we suggest that Executives need a salary cap, they might not contribute to our campaign coffers anymore. Let's take a softer approach to trickle-down."

The Visitation

When visiting south Florida, at the end of December, something wondrous appears out over the water. There, on clear nights, which is most of them, around midnight, due south, over the water, gleams a jewel. Something new and out of the ordinary. Something special. It must be a visitation of some sort, hovering low over the water, reflecting - look - it's right down there, past the reef. But no. It's not new, no matter how much of an exciting relief that would be. No, it's just Alpha Centauri, suddenly revealed over the bulk of the earth, buried deep in the southern hemisphere. There it lies, a constant companion for those south of the equator, but to this northerner, it's a glimmering spaceship on fire coming in for a landing on a distant island. Soon, alien visitors will come ashore and hopefully they are friendly, and have viewed us from afar, from their home and from orbit and from right over there. And they will bring enlightenment.

Nope - just a bright star, visible during that time of the year, only. But you can still dream, if for just half a second.

Sin taxes on high paychecks results in smaller government and a better economy

Feral
Reposting a bit of this, but during the Eisenhower era...

Despite the rich paying as much as 70% in income taxes on their highest earnings the economy still grew, something that seems to be lost down the memory hole. High taxes on the wealthy and economic growth - who'd a figured???

The thing is, this is painted as a money-grab, whereas it should be looked at a sin tax. The right-wing pundits and politicians claim that the government wants $70million from a $100million/year salary. But that's not how it actually works. It you tax at 70% for every $ earned over $2,000,000/year (for example), then business-savvy Boards of Directors will pay out $2,500,000/year maximum. The rest stays in the company.

It's a sin tax: you tax what you want to discourage, which in this case is the theft of profits from the company. But not only are high paychecks stealing from the company, its workers, and its shareholders, but it is also stealing from the economy. For every dollar that poor and middle class people get, *every* dollar goes back into the economy, through the purchase of goods, and the paying of taxes. Poor-/middle-class people save next to nothing - it all goes back into circulation. Give rich people cheap money taxed at 30% and only that 30% plus maybe another 20% goes back into the economy through purchases. The rest - 50% of their pay - gone overseas or in trust funds or foundations.

So with this 70% sin tax, government makes less off of rich people because they get their salaries limited, but the shortfall is recovered because poor- and middle-class people will then be paying taxes on their salaries and sales tax, gas tax, etc.

Finally, putting money into the hands of the poor- and middle-classes suddenly eliminates the need for unemployment checks. The government takes in the same amount in overall taxes, but puts out less in benefits,

Thus, a high sin tax on the rich (call it a "fine" if you like) results in smaller government. Imagine that.

Poisoning Yet Another Well

So this attempt, by Republican governors and General Assemblies, to strip government employees of their collective bargaining rights, among other things - is this just a way to poison the well? Maybe in one or two years, after collective bargaining has been eliminated, the Republicans will look around and pretend to be shocked:

"Look at the crappy benefits and perks these government workers get. A government job is bad enough, but to have so few benefits, it's a wonder people want to work for the government at all. And I hear that some employees are considering leaving their jobs and working in the private sector. Well that is the way of the future, with government as broken as it is."

/Republicans Who Broke Government