Myth – The wealthy create JOBS

 

Myth – The wealthy create JOBS

There are many myths in America.  One of the most harmful is the wealthy create jobs.  It just isn’t true.

First let’s get something straight.  What is WEALTHY in America today?

The top 1% are wealthy and they averaged $8.4 million in income in 2009 and paid $1.6 million in personal income taxes, or a 22% tax rate.  I think this is TOO low and it hurts America.

Most jobs, about 80% of all new jobs are created by small businesses.  These businesses are mostly single proprietor owned and run.  The owners usually make less than $250,000 per year in earnings.  They are not WEALTHY. 

Based on the above the wealthy do not create jobs.

Who are the wealthy?  Bill Gates, Microsoft fired thousands this year and moved thousands of jobs to India and China.  The Sam Walton children are each worth about $19 billion, all inherited their wealth and own a major share in Wal-Mart.  None of them ever worked to be rich.  95% of Wal-Mart workers make minimum wage and 90% of all their products are made in China.  Wal-Mart creates few middle-class jobs.

So the companies that create jobs are not owned by the wealthy.  In fact many of my friends own and work for these small businesses and do very well.

My neighbor owns a roofing company.  He makes about $150,000 per year employs two crews of three men each and a bookkeeper/administration manager.  He pays his worker between $20 and $25 per hour and that works out to $40,000 to $50,000 per year.  He has a medical plan and pays a part of the premium.

I have a friend who has a small CPA firm and he employs six accountants.  He does taxes and accounting for individuals and small businesses in the area.

He makes a little more than my neighbor the roofer, but he isn’t wealthy either.  His payroll is similar in that he pays his people on average $50,000 to $60,000 per year.

Neither of these two people is wealthy, rich or even going to be wealthy or rich.  They are the engine that drives middle-class jobs.

The two above businesses are typical of how most middle-class jobs are created in America.  They are not created by wealthy people.

The CEOs of major companies are not hiring any Americans and in fact they are looking for ways to move more US jobs to China and India.

The BIG lie is that we can’t raise taxes on the wealthy because they create jobs.  This is not true.  In fact most of the wealthy have their tens of millions to tens of billions invested in hedge funds that create no jobs.  These funds play the commodity and stock markets making money on the money they control without ever helping the economy or creating any jobs.

The single best times for the American economy were during the times when marginal tax rates for the wealthiest were high (50% to 70%).  These taxes went into investments that helped everyone in America; education, infrastructure and social benefits that gave talented people who were poor the opportunity to get out of poverty and contribute to society by bettering themselves and getting a job.

The income and wealth gap has grown and so has poverty, unemployment along with the destruction of public education.

The wealthy don’t create jobs and in fact they often destroy middle-class jobs by forcing companies they invest in to move America jobs to third world countries to improve their personal profits.

Republicans say low taxes on the rich help the poor.  How?  This is a lie I have heard for decades and it is still being told. 

We are in a class war and the rich are winning with the help of the Republicans.  Warren Buffett said it best in the New York Times.

“Yes there is class warfare, but my class the RICH are making war and we are winning.”

By the way Warren has four children all billionaires and they like 75% of all the wealthy got their money the old fashioned way – they inherited it.  They too create no jobs, but just get richest each day.

We need to stop telling this dangerous and harmful lie that we can’t tax the wealthy because they create jobs.

We need to start implementing the teachings of Jesus and start helping the “least among us” so they can begin helping themselves.

What say you?  Do you agree?

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Matthew 22:39-40 

 

39"The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

40" On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Matthew 7:12 GOLDEN RULE -

12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

John 14:15 “If ye love me keep my commandments.”

Matthew 25:44-46

44"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'

 45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'

 46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."