From Robert Reich Blog
It's often thought that Democrats care about fairness and not economic growth, while Republicans care about growth even at the cost of some fairness.
Rubbish. Growth and fairness aren't opposites. In reality, Democrats are the party of economic growth and fairness. Republicans are the party of neither.
The only way to grow the economy is by investing in the education, healthcare, and infrastructure that average Americans need in order to be more productive. Growth doesn't "trickle down." It rises up.
Consider the two biggest legislative initiatives over past decade -- the Affordable Care Act, achieved without a single Republican vote, and the current Trump-Republican tax overhaul, speeding ahead without a single Democrat.
The ACA extends coverage to 21 million mostly lower-income Americans, including millions of children.
It's largely paid for by two tax increases on the rich -- a 3.8 percent increase on their capital gains taxes and other investment-related income, and a 0.9 percent surcharge on their Medicare taxes. Those tax increases are a major reason why Republicans have wanted to repeal it.
But the ACA isn't just about fairness. Healthier Americans are also more productive workers. Children who receive health care are better learners. The Act thereby fuels economic growth and widens prosperity.
Republicans say their tax overhaul will promote growth by increasing the profits of American corporations and investors. This is trickle-down nonsense.
Every major study (including Congress's own Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation) finds that its benefits would go mainly to big corporations and the wealthy.
Share prices may rise for a time. They're already at record highs in anticipation of the tax cut. But higher share prices don't trickle down, either. The richest 1 percent owns almost 38 percent of the stock market. Eighty percent of Americans together own just 8 percent of all shares of stock.
This won't fuel growth. Corporations expand and invest only when customers are eager to buy what they produce. And most of these customers are middle-income and below, who spend just about all they earn. The rich spend only a small fraction.
Profits are now at record levels but corporations aren't investing them. They're using them instead to pump up share prices and executive pay.
After the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, economic growth stalled and then dissolved in recession. After the 2004 corporate tax holiday for bringing foreign profits home, corporations didn't invest or expand. The Reagan tax cut of 1981 didn't cause wages to rise; they flattened.
What's the real formula for growth? Better access to education, healthcare, and transportation, all of which make workers more productive.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
