I add the emphasis to taxable income, because for those politicians and pundits that believe tax cuts are akin to the Lord’s Prayer, a very unlikely view of the American landscape exists. Precious few small businesses, of the type most of us would identify with that label, generate taxable income in excess of $200,000. Corner markets, craft stores, pizza parlors, hair salons, craft stores, boutiques, Avon ladies, independent contractors…none of these are likely to reach that plateau. Even as a sole proprietor, and cutting no corners on the filing and writing off no expenses or material, Joe the Plumber might be expected to reach $120,000 in gross income for a year.
Read the rest of this entry »The War On The Working Class
For years, America has been treated to a steady attack on poor people. When bad things happened over hill and dell, you could bet that poor people were the cause. White poor people in Appalachia, brown poor people in the Southwest, and black poor people everywhere; were there was crime, despair, or peeling picket fences, there was poor people. Poor people, it seemed, where poor because they didn’t like work. Poor people were poor because they were lazy. As with many arguments, there were, and are, nuggets of truth to the claims. Some percentage of the poor, perhaps even a significant percentage, were and are lazy. But much of the focus on the poor was of a political nature.
Read the rest of this entry »It’s The Economy, Stupid
Political guru James Carville famously wrote “It’s the economy, stupid” on the wall at Clinton headquarters during the 1992 presidential campaign. The logic is simple: when people have jobs that pay enough to cover the bills and provide for some entertainment, they are happy. If the voters aren’t happy, they will generally view the current [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Populist Economics
I have a quick note today on populism and economics in the aftermath of the Senate’s passage of financial reform. The reform law, as an aside, is stronger than I thought it would be, but still weaker than the structures in place through the mid-1990′s. The reason we the people did not get real reform [...]
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