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Top of the morning

Post on January 5, 2011 by 2 Comments »

If you haven’t already read the latest column from Robert Reich, you need to. It is the clearest and most succinct summary of what is going on with the economy that I have seen in while. 

It’s all about what he calls the Big Lie that the Republicans are telling and the Democrats’ unwillingness to challenge them on it.

The Big Lie is that our economic problems are due to a government that’s too large, and therefore the solution is to shrink it.

The truth is our economic problems stem from the biggest concentration of income and wealth at the top since 1928, combined with stagnant incomes for most of the rest of us. The result: Americans no longer have the purchasing power to keep the economy going at full capacity

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Comments (Closed):2

  1. Raleigh Needs Progressive Talk Radio
    January 5, 2011 at 10:47 am

    thanks for sharing Chris….this was also up on Common Dreams…Are you guys doing any in-depth reports on the originators of the right wing ‘Big Lie’ techniques here in NC? Im talking about the increasingly consolidated corporate media, where guys who vote Republican are in charge.

  2. Nonanonymous
    January 5, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    The lynch pin of RR’s column is this, “The long-term solution is to spread the benefits of economic growth more widely (for example, through a more progressive income tax, a larger EITC, an exemption on the first $20K of income from payroll taxes and application of payroll taxes to incomes over $250K, stronger unions, and more and better investments in education and infrastructure.)”

    Here is where I fundamentally and philosophically differ with the sentiments expressed by RR. “Spread the benefits of economic growth” by raising taxes on those who work and giving it to those who don’t work is a disincentive to work.

    Taxes are going to be increased on the wealthy because the majority of Americans want it to be thus. It’s not going to fix our long term problems because we’re going down the deficit tunnel, and the light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming the other way.

    I notice RR doesn’t mention the $50T in unfunded federal entitlements already incurred by the post WWII generation. Until this funding gap is addressed, everything else is just feel good rhetoric.