While I respect Mr. Moore’s objections to the American Jobs Act, I believe he is off the mark on his analysis. He repeats the common claims of many on the right that are factually inaccurate. He starts by saying that all it would take to fix the economy would be to cut government spending, lower taxes and reduce regulation. Quite frankly, this policy would lead us further to the brink of economic collapse. I will break my reply into three paragraphs, debunking each fiction as I go along.
First I will start with government spending. Government overspending is a big problem; anyone who looks at the national debt and deficit knows this. However, a hacksaw attempt to cut the deficit will cripple this country and throw it into what we all feared in 2008: a depression. There are specific cuts that can be made to continue ensuring sound investments in our future while cutting a great deal of waste. Across-the-board cuts will only lead to jobs being destroyed in this economy. The fact of the matter is that the Stimulus Bill passed in 2009 saved 2.4 million local and state government jobs. This is based on the average salary of a state government that kept $415,980,000,000 in the U.S. economy and kept our GDP from dipping negatively. The fiction that will get tossed around is that “government doesn’t create jobs.” Well I suggest you tell that to anyone who works at the Department of State, the local DMV, the sheriff’s office or to any of the more than 3 million employees at the Department of Defense. In fact, according to a recent article in The Economist, eight of the world’s 10 largest employers are government agencies.
Second I will expose the absurd fiction that we are “overtaxed.” This directly correlates with the notion that there is a “fair” tax. The only “fair” tax in anyone’s eyes is 0 percent. The fact of the matter is that the current tax rates are at their lowest in over 60 years. With all the ridiculous loopholes that affect companies like General Electric, Exxon Mobile, and Bank of America, corporate taxes have never been lower. However it isn’t just the Fortune 500 companies that aren’t paying taxes. With investors receiving their own special tax law that a McDonald’s or Walmart employee doesn’t receive, individuals who shift money from one bank account to another receive a 15 percent tax rate. If you earn $38,200 in wage or salary, then you will pay the exact same rate as a hedge fund manager who makes his money in capital gains and earns $10,000,000. You pay the exact same rate! This is the true cheat in our tax code.
Third, there’s the fiction that if we just remove regulation all the jobs will come flooding back. In the extreme case, this may be true. If we remove protections for worker safety, children can be forced to work and the maximum amount of toxic waste can be dumped into your drinking water. Then maybe those jobs would come rushing back. But let’s not forget we banned those things for a reason. Countries like China, for instance, allow their citizens to be treated like slaves and basically exist in a feudal system similar to the one that Europe abandoned hundreds of years ago. To see just how ludicrous this argument would be, switch the metaphor to football. Imagine if Ray Lewis or Albert Haynesworth were to attempt to convince the NFL commissioner that “if you take the referees off the field, we promise to play by the rules and ensure everyone is safe.” Would you take them at their word? If you would, then I have some snake oil I would love to sell you. Government’s major function is to create rules that all parties that wish to engage in business must play by.
Whether you are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, tea party member or socialist, I hope you don’t forget that nothing is black and white and government on either extreme is bad for America. Too much and we are strangled, but too little and we are no better off.
Alex Bowen
Information Systems and
Ops Management
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