Soaking the rich doesn’t work

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

For the GOP, the sweet spot is always below what it currently is, even though the current rate is less than it was under St. Ronnie, peace be upon him.

Yeah, the left likes to keep pointing this out. It's an analogy that lacks context though. The only way the analogy works is if we also bring back Carter era run away inflation and double digit interest rates, and push the unemployment rate back up above 8%.

Raising the cost of converting capital and increasing the disincentives to take the risk of opening / expanding businesses just might get us there. Where's my Gerry Ford WIN button?

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Yeah, the left likes to keep pointing this out. It's an analogy that lacks context though. The only way the analogy works is if we also bring back Carter era run away inflation and double digit interest rates, and push the unemployment rate back up above 8%.

What it does show is that the sweet spot on the Laffer Curve (an article of faith in the GOP), is at least as high as St. Ronnie's highest marginal rate (i.e., revenues will go up if we raise the top marginal rate to 39.6, not down).

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by whell

Raising the cost of converting capital and increasing the disincentives to take the risk of opening / expanding businesses just might get us there. Where's my Gerry Ford WIN button?

Some example of the 1% actually starting a new business please?

[whell]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Some example of the 1% actually starting a new business please?

You need to get out more. For example, where do you think some of the money comes from to fund start ups, or to fund rapid expansion of existing firms?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonr...nture-capital/

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by whell

You need to get out more. For example, where do you think some of the money comes from to fund start ups, or to fund rapid expansion of existing firms?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonr...nture-capital/

Don't forget the 50 cents a post that they pay you to get on the internet and spread their propaganda.

That's job creation.

[whell]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Don't forget the 50 cents a post that they pay you to get on the internet and spread their propaganda.

That's job creation.

LOL! In a free economy, VC firms and private investors are a fact, not propaganda. If you ran the economy, I'm sure they'd all be in jail.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by whell

You need to get out more. For example, where do you think some of the money comes from to fund start ups, or to fund rapid expansion of existing firms?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonr...nture-capital/

Screw Forbes by all reports lately it is coming from crowd sourcing a new phenomena.

[whell]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Screw Forbes by all reports lately it is coming from crowd sourcing a new phenomena.

Sure. Crowd funding can be a great supplementary funding source.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by whell

Yeah, the left likes to keep pointing this out. It's an analogy that lacks context though. The only way the analogy works is if we also bring back Carter era run away inflation and double digit interest rates, and push the unemployment rate back up above 8%.

Raising the cost of converting capital and increasing the disincentives to take the risk of opening / expanding businesses just might get us there. Where's my Gerry Ford WIN button?

Right, because the economy really sucked back in the 1950's when the top bracket was 90%.

[whell]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Right, because the economy really sucked back in the 1950's when the top bracket was 90%.

It actually did, unless you're using "Happy Days" as your historical reference. It was a period marked by inflation, recession, slow economic growth, and recession that reached its peak in the mid 50's. The housing sector was rocking, but that was in part due to the GI Bill's impact.

The economy saw a brief period of growth but went into the tank again around '57 or '58. Industrial production and corporate profits fell and unemployment hit 7.5 percent. President Eisenhower didn't try to intervene by leading any policy initiatives because he worried more about inflation and not unemployment. By 1959 the gummint was running a $12 billion deficit, a new record for a budget shortfall during peacetime.

So yeah, let's drop that 90% top rate back into place.