Okay, A day has passed and I have calmed, somewhat ... [View all]

[1StrongBlackMan]

Yesterday morning I was listening to a NPR segment in which the fiscal cliff was being discussed. The segment included a couple economists (one from the IMF) that have studied the effects of deficit reduction strategies. I was, initially, encouraged knowing that the IMF has publically stated that "austerity promotes stunted economic growth, relative to increasing upper-income earners' taxes AND increasing public spending." But this encouragement was quickly dashed, when the economists stated that all of the UE nations that raised taxes, experienced economic slow-downs.

I almost wrecked my car, as I shouted at my radio machine, "tell the whole F'ing story!"

First, while it is true some of these EU nations did raise taxes, it was widely reported that they did so in the most anti-stimulative manner possible ... they raised taxes on the middle and working classes, while leaving the tax rates for the high income earners flat. Secondly, on top of raising taxes on the middle and working classes, these EU nations not only cut public spending on goods and services, they cut spending on governmental employment and their social safety net. (And they wonder why their growth stopped)

How do I know? It was right there in the IMF report that these economists cited!

I asked myself, "when are these economists going to come out and say, what all of their studies indicate: economies grow from the middle out!" Then, it dawned on me ... they can't (and earn a comfortable living). A government economist (earning ~ $80,000) can say this, so can an academic economist (earning ~ $100,000); but no private sector economist/forecaster (earning in the mid to high 6-figures) can/will say, "Don't put money in our (investor-class) hands, put it in the hands of the working class."

Okay ... Rant off.