When the Big Debate Is Over Taxes, Progressives Have Lost

[Capt Bringdown]

When the Big Debate Is Over Taxes, Progressives Have Lost (http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/when-the-big-debate-is-over-taxes-progressives-have-lost)
-Dean Baker

Ever since Governor Romney's comment about writing off the 47 percent of households who don't pay federal income tax became public, news stories and opinion pieces have been dominated by discussions of who does and does not pay taxes. This is great news for the one percent.

The obsession with taxes means that the one percent are playing a game that they can only win. The vast majority of the upward redistribution of income over the last three decades has been in before tax income. This has been brought about through a variety of changes in laws and institutions that had the effect of restructuring markets in ways that redistribute income upward.

As long as we are obsessed with a discussion of whether the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy will continue, the policies responsible for the bulk of the upward redistribution over the last three decades will never be discussed. The current debate may be good news for President Obama's re-election prospects, but it is not a positive development for those who don't like to see the perpetuation of government policies that redistribute money upward.

- more - > (http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/when-the-big-debate-is-over-taxes-progressives-have-lost)

[Nbadan]

Seriously? We have one party that is being held hostage on taxes by a group of radicals in their own party...

[Capt Bringdown]

Seriously? We have one party that is being held hostage on taxes by a group of radicals in their own party...

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4671383226745096&id=b5d64e2714e3c04ffbb082782b30f3ba

to distract you from this:


...we have a trade policy that is designed to put downward pressure on the wages of manufacturing workers by putting them in direct competition with low-wage workers in the developing world. (Highly paid professionals like doctors and lawyers are still largely protected from such competition.) This downward pressure is amplified by the over-valued dollar, a policy that had its origins in the Clinton administration.

The implicit government insurance provided to too big to fail banks transfers around $60 billion a year to the shareholders and top executives at the big banks. Patent and copyright monopolies redistribute hundreds of billions a year from consumers to drug companies and the tech and entertainment industry.

Anti-union laws weaken the power of workers trying to organize for collective action, thereby reducing their ability to secure wage increases. (Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was going to court to have union leaders thrown in jail if the teachers continued their strike.) And a Federal Reserve Board that throws workers out of work to meet inflation targets protects the wealth of creditors at the cost of undermining the bargaining power of workers.

[boutons_deux]

it's a VERY SOPHISTICATED VRWC game that's been going on at least from St Ronnie cutting taxes on capital gains AND busting the ATC union, signalling to corps that the War on Employees AND Unions was sanctioned by ST Ronnie and "lock and load"

[101A]

The discussion under the article is not nearly as high brow as those in here.

[Clipper Nation]

When the big debate is over taxes, Willard loses simply for not paying them, tbh....

[boutons_deux]

Baker is saying

GOVT IS THE SOLUTION for the 1% (gaining wealth from below)

and

GOVT IS THE PROBLEM for the 99% (losing wealth upward)

conclusion: the 1% and corps own and operate govt to increase their wealth