Democrats' class act
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 12/7/17
Love 'em or hate 'em, political parties are the heart of the American political scene. Even here in Colorado where we love our Independents, we still rely on the parties to select candidates, hold elections, and keep the wheels of government turning. And, as long as the two parties in America both remain strong, their competing ideas will find their way to the polls and we-the-people will decide.
Right now, our nation lacks political balance with all the levers of federal power resting in the hands of Republicans. Even though I'm a registered Republican, I don't like it when that happens. Strange as it may sound to die-hard partisans, I'd rather see Democrats and their policies find their footing with the electorate than see Republican power continue to grow.
I just don't think that declaring class warfare in America is the way to do it.
On Dec. 6, this newspaper reported that the Democrats are ready to embrace a class war and blame the Republicans for starting it. In the words of John Lapp, a veteran Democratic strategist, "If (Democrats) are eating the rich, (Republicans) bit first."
Democrats eating the rich to save America. Nice visual. Can't wait to see the ads.
Of course, the basis for all this colorful Democratic rhetoric about dining on the rich to save the middle class is the tax bill before Congress. The Democratic Party line is that the vast majority of the tax cuts will go to corporations, who are largely owned by the rich, and to the relatively rich individual taxpayers. That much is, quite simply, true.
If that were the whole story of why the tax bill looks the way it does then no one could blame Democrats for accusing Republicans of serving the rich by waging class warfare. But, it's not the whole story and hoping that the civic debate will stop there and that these facts can be used to deepen divisions between the economic strata of American society is both delusional and intellectually vacant.
The force driving the need for tax cuts is that our corporate tax rates are internationally uncompetitive and, as a consequence, both American and foreign businesses are investing elsewhere. That problem has been on the table for a decade including when President Obama unsuccessfully took steps in 2012 to lower corporate tax rates. And, since the top 25 percent of income earners pay 88 percent of all individual taxes, it's no surprise that any cut in individual tax rates will benefit high-income earners.
The fertile ground for civic debate is "what happens after the tax cuts?" Republicans argue that the corporate tax cuts will increase business investments in ways that will ultimately benefit the workers in the middle class and provide opportunities for the lower classes. Furthermore, Republicans argue that the increase in economic activity caused by the tax cuts will generate greater taxable profits and wages that will reduce their ultimate impact on the nation's debts.
Economists widely agree that these Republican claims are valid, though they disagree on how significant these benefits will be. Fair enough, but lack of certainty in the consequences of public policy is no reason to exclude them from consideration, and Americans know that.
It's also worth noting that the greatest economic consequence to rich and poor alike comes not from the tax cut but from how it affects the larger economy. To the truly rich, a tax cut of 2-3 percent is small compared to the wealth increase they would gain from a thriving economy and the opportunities that come with it. And, without better and higher-paying jobs for the middle and lower classes, the consumer spending that accounts for 70 percent of American economic activity will stagnate and hurt economic growth.
Therefore, tax laws that create middle- and lower-class prosperity also serve the interests of the rich. This was acknowledged by billionaire liberal warrior Tom Steyer in a Dec. 6 Wall Street Journal editorial where he stated that, "when Main Street and the rest of the nation does well, so does the financial sector." This proposition that "all economic classes are best served by economic prosperity" is what Republicans are selling.
Bottom line? Democrats are trying to sell voters weapons of class warfare while Republicans are selling dreams of economic prosperity for all. Furthermore, these are the same Democrats who lost much of the working class vote with a not-so-different story barely one year ago.
Betting the Democratic party's future on a failing economy and sustained class warfare seems like a great way to move the party further into the backwoods of American politics. With that, everybody loses.
Love 'em or hate 'em, political parties are the heart of the American political scene. Even here in Colorado where we love our Independents, we still rely on the parties to select candidates, hold elections, and keep the wheels of government turning. And, as long as the two parties in America both remain strong, their competing ideas will find their way to the polls and we-the-people will decide.
Right now, our nation lacks political balance with all the levers of federal power resting in the hands of Republicans. Even though I'm a registered Republican, I don't like it when that happens. Strange as it may sound to die-hard partisans, I'd rather see Democrats and their policies find their footing with the electorate than see Republican power continue to grow.
I just don't think that declaring class warfare in America is the way to do it.
On Dec. 6, this newspaper reported that the Democrats are ready to embrace a class war and blame the Republicans for starting it. In the words of John Lapp, a veteran Democratic strategist, "If (Democrats) are eating the rich, (Republicans) bit first."
Democrats eating the rich to save America. Nice visual. Can't wait to see the ads.
Of course, the basis for all this colorful Democratic rhetoric about dining on the rich to save the middle class is the tax bill before Congress. The Democratic Party line is that the vast majority of the tax cuts will go to corporations, who are largely owned by the rich, and to the relatively rich individual taxpayers. That much is, quite simply, true.
If that were the whole story of why the tax bill looks the way it does then no one could blame Democrats for accusing Republicans of serving the rich by waging class warfare. But, it's not the whole story and hoping that the civic debate will stop there and that these facts can be used to deepen divisions between the economic strata of American society is both delusional and intellectually vacant.
The force driving the need for tax cuts is that our corporate tax rates are internationally uncompetitive and, as a consequence, both American and foreign businesses are investing elsewhere. That problem has been on the table for a decade including when President Obama unsuccessfully took steps in 2012 to lower corporate tax rates. And, since the top 25 percent of income earners pay 88 percent of all individual taxes, it's no surprise that any cut in individual tax rates will benefit high-income earners.
The fertile ground for civic debate is "what happens after the tax cuts?" Republicans argue that the corporate tax cuts will increase business investments in ways that will ultimately benefit the workers in the middle class and provide opportunities for the lower classes. Furthermore, Republicans argue that the increase in economic activity caused by the tax cuts will generate greater taxable profits and wages that will reduce their ultimate impact on the nation's debts.
Economists widely agree that these Republican claims are valid, though they disagree on how significant these benefits will be. Fair enough, but lack of certainty in the consequences of public policy is no reason to exclude them from consideration, and Americans know that.
It's also worth noting that the greatest economic consequence to rich and poor alike comes not from the tax cut but from how it affects the larger economy. To the truly rich, a tax cut of 2-3 percent is small compared to the wealth increase they would gain from a thriving economy and the opportunities that come with it. And, without better and higher-paying jobs for the middle and lower classes, the consumer spending that accounts for 70 percent of American economic activity will stagnate and hurt economic growth.
Therefore, tax laws that create middle- and lower-class prosperity also serve the interests of the rich. This was acknowledged by billionaire liberal warrior Tom Steyer in a Dec. 6 Wall Street Journal editorial where he stated that, "when Main Street and the rest of the nation does well, so does the financial sector." This proposition that "all economic classes are best served by economic prosperity" is what Republicans are selling.
Bottom line? Democrats are trying to sell voters weapons of class warfare while Republicans are selling dreams of economic prosperity for all. Furthermore, these are the same Democrats who lost much of the working class vote with a not-so-different story barely one year ago.
Betting the Democratic party's future on a failing economy and sustained class warfare seems like a great way to move the party further into the backwoods of American politics. With that, everybody loses.
