#274 / Tax-Cut Mirage

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a good editorial on Tuesday, September 18th. They titled it: "Tax Cut Mirage." Citing to a recent report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the Chronicle said this:

After analyzing the past 65 years of taxes, the service has come to a simple conclusion: there is no "conclusive evidence" that lower tax rates lead to economic growth. 

What it did find, however, is an association between lower tax rates and the "increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution." In other words, lower tax rates don't do anything to create jobs, but they sure do help the rich get a lot richer. 

An opinion piece by New York Times columnist David Brooks, which also appeared in print on September 18th, made the same point from a different perspective. Brooks was commenting on the now notorious remarks that Mitt Romney made at a private fundraiser, earlier this year.

Romney said that 47% of Americans believed themselves to be "victims," and were "dependent" on government. Romney implied that this near-majority of Americans were quite happy about that condition of dependency.

While I am not, generally, a big fan of David Brooks, I thought what he said about Romney's remarks was right on point:

Sure, there are some government programs that cultivate patterns of dependency in some people...But, as a description of American today, Romney's comment is a country-club fantasy. It's what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other....

Romney's remarks are a great example of what the top of the pyramid folks say to each other, as they talk about why our nation needs a tax cut. Our nation needs a tax cut so the rich can get a lot richer!