Posted by
Jon on Sunday, June 07, 2009 4:25:49 AM
If I were king...
Oh, if only.
These days, we have to ask ourselves, what really are we trying to stimulate? "The Economy"? That seems awfully nebulous to those of us out beyond The Beltway. No, what the government should be stimulating in employment. The main reason for the lack of consumer spending over the past several months is job insecurity.
Why in the world would anybody spend anything in an environment of contracting incomes, and the very real potential of job loss.
Obama's plan has clearly done
very little to stimulate job growth, despite his promises. Now reaching over 9%, it is more than a point higher than the Administration predicted when his stimulus package was signed into law. "Accelerate the stimulus," answers Joe Biden.
My answer: The really simple one. If you want to stiumulate jobs, then stimulate actual employers. Companies big and small in America must be incentivized to hire new workers. And how best to do that. Yeah, you know! Cut taxes on employers, cut payroll taxes... if I were king, I would do whatever it takes to drive corporate income taxes to zero. After all, companies don't pay income taxes, their customers do. Taxation is just another cost of doing business, which by necessity must be passed on to the customer.
The Left would argue that we can increase taxes with mandates that that increased cost of taxation not be passed on to consumers, by law if necessary. But what does that accomplish, if it could be realistically done? It reduces profitability... and therefore reduces share prices... and therefore hammers people in their 401k's and mutual funds. Nice.
Obama is hunting where ever he can to increase tax collections from corporations. But you see where this leads. Higher prices and/or lower stock markets.
They should have elected me king.