Can we stop with the Paul Krugman posts already?

[Dragonfli]

106. I was just being facetious but I am not sure I understand what you are saying.

"Government spending increases orders hence more jobs, increased income tax revenue" I get, but I am not sure I understand how more jobs increases discretionary spending.

Another thing to consider is more jobs also means more purchases (employed people have money to spend) and more purchases increases demand that businesses can then supply, leading to them hiring more as well thus amplifying the effect (you should not ignore that bit).

Increased retirement benefits or increased wages anywhere will do the same. There are many more ways than increasing orders that a government can provide stimulus - A WPA established by government to rebuild crumbling bridges and other decaying parts of our infrastructure for instance would employ many people directly and would also serve as an investment in infrastructure that is long overdue (remember those employed people will spend money increasing demand).

I don't understand this bit at all, "With less spending the economy dwindles and then they tax us more. The tax increases on the rich brings in far less totally than the extra payroll tax on the rest of us.". What does the payroll tax have to do with income taxes whether the source of income is investments or labor? The "rest of us" pay both, the rich pay only the slightest of a percentage of their income in payroll taxes, none if they earn money by derivatives gambling or capital gains without collecting a paycheck. Payroll taxes add up, but so does the federal taxes paid by wage earners. I also don't see how payroll taxes increased by more jobs would do anything but increase the solvency of the SS trust fund and yet again destroy the premature declarations that it's going broke (I remember in the eighties and nineties they pretended the fund would be completely gone by 2000 or so)

Increased jobs due to stimulus or increased employment due to rising demand and the need to supply it would increase income tax revenue and help fund discretionary spending. I don't see raising taxes as an answer to a shrinking economy, I do see raising taxes on the upper brackets as being reasonable at any time because they are historically pretty damned low for the upper brackets and supply side tax breaks for the wealthy have been tried for several years and only have managed to increase the deficit.

If you could explain those couple of sentences I am struggling with I would be grateful, for all I know we are in complete agreement but I won't know until I understand you. If I don't understand it is a given that I am to blame for that as much as you, perhaps even more. I do want to understand your point either way