Sunday, December 11, 2011

To the Man With a Hammer, Every Problem Looks Like a Nail

The GOP's solution to every problem in recent years has been to lower taxes.


Economy is struggling? Lower taxes.
Economy is robust? Lower taxes.
Government purse is empty? Lower taxes.
Government purse is full? Lower taxes.
Low tax rates hurting national infrastructure? Lower taxes.
Low revenue causing cutbacks in services? Lower taxes.
Bridges and infrastructure collapsing from neglect? Lower taxes.
Global warming a concern? Lower taxes.
Health care system broken? Lower taxes.
Pension programs not funded? Lower taxes.
My elbow itches? Lower taxes.
And, of course, a current favorite - Temporary tax cut expiring? Make it permanent and lower taxes.


The GOP was 100% consistent in it's ideal that lowering taxes is a cure for everything from economic hardship to the heartbreak of psoriasis.


Until a tax cut came along that would only help the working man and woman rather than a rich guy. Suddenly it didn't seem prudent to do a tax cut, what with, you know, the rich struggling so much.


Hypocrisy, thy name is the Republican Party.


Jason Linkins did some research and comes to the conclusion that the small business owners the GOP quote to support their position on payroll taxes may not even exist.


"We wanted to talk to business owners who would be affected. So NPR requested help from numerous Republican congressional offices, including House and Senate leadership. They were unable to produce a single millionaire job creator for us to interview.
So we went to the business groups that have been lobbying against the surtax. Again, three days after putting in a request, none of them was able to find someone for us to talk to. A group called the Tax Relief Coalition said the problem was finding someone willing to talk about their personal taxes on national radio.
So next we put a query on Facebook. And several business owners who said they would be affected by the "millionaires surtax" responded.
"It's not in the top 20 things that we think about when we're making a business hire," said Ian Yankwitt, who owns Tortoise Investment Management.
Tortoise is a boutique investment firm in White Plains, N.Y. Yankwitt has 10 employees and in recent years has done a lot of hiring.
As a result, Yankwitt says he's had many conversations about hiring, "both with respect to specific people, with respect to whether we should hire one junior person or two, whether we should hire a senior person."
He says his ultimate marginal tax rate "didn't even make it on the agenda."
Yankwitt says deciding to bring on another employee is all about return on investment. Will adding another person to the payroll make his company more successful?"



Read more:     Do Small Business Owners GOP Claims to Listen to Even Exist?     Jason Linkins