Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Policy Choices Made Simple

2 comments:

Eaton Rapids Joe said...

There are approximately 25 million people in Venezuela who repudiate this soundbite-factoid.

The endpoint of creeping socialism is flight of capital, mal- or non-investment in critical infrastructure like food production and processing, medical, roads, power.

Creeping socialism also debases the currency. Venezuela was fine as long as oil prices kept rising. That rising tide masked growing internal weaknesses. The United States provides the World Reserve Currency and is the last Super Power standing. That blessed state masks our growing internal weaknesses.

Finally, attacking people who did not consume every penny they earned (attacking via media, taxes and inflation) punishes them and reduces the motivation to set aside money and increases the incentives for avoiding taxes. The flight of industry is partially driven by these disincentives. What Park proposes as a solution is one of the causes of the problem.

"...no one dies." Tell that to the widow of the laid-off blue-collar worker who O.D.ed

PBurns said...

Social Security and Medicare are not socialism. See >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

"Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production..."

Also, the United States is not Venezuela. Compare the two.
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/US/VE

We know exactly what happens when we "burden" the rich with higher taxes. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the top bracket income tax rate was over 90% -- and the economy, middle-class, and stock market boomed. See http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-tax-rates-2012-5#lets-begin-with-a-look-at-the-top-income-tax-bracket-since-the-federal-income-tax-was-started-in-1913-as-you-can-see-relative-to-history-its-currently-very-low-1

States with higher taxes rates are doing better than low-tax rates states -- compare Minnesota and Wisconin for example. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/10/scott-walker-gets-schooled-by-his-neighbor.html