Math Facts

by Dick Mac

Warren Buffet recently shared his opinion about America's debt and tax rates.

He is one of the richest men in the world. He believes that rich people should shoulder more of the burden of funding society than poor people and working people.

He is embarrassed to know that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than him.

Firefighters and schoolteachers and bus drivers (all those people the tea party hates) pay a higher tax rate than John Boehner, Michelle Bachmann, the Koch brothers, and all the other tea party millionaires who are working to reduce the tax burden of the wealthy while placing that burden squarely on the shoulders of the working class.

These tea partiers insist that raising the taxes on the rich will damage the economy.

This is illogical, of course.

Think about it.

If a person earning two million dollars a year spends a hundred grand on housing, and ten grand on candy, and fifty grand on clothes and shoes, and twenty grand on cars, and twenty grand on travel, they are going to continue to spend that exact same amount of money if their tax rate increases by a few points.

So, the change in income for the wealthy has no impact on the amount of money that person sinks into the economy. She is still going to spend the same amounts of money for the exact same services an d her lifestyle will be nominally impacted by the tax increase, if it is affected at all; and her savings will likely continue to grow at a similar rate as it does currently.

If a person is earning $75,000 a year is given a tax decrease of a couple of points, a few more dollars will appear in his budget, and it is likely he's going to spend that money in the marketplace, thereby boosting the economy.

Giving money to the rich has never stimulated the economy, giving money to the working class always stimulates the economy.

If you want to stimulate the economy, make more money available to those who spend it, not those who horde it!

It is simple math and those are facts.