The Right’s Sham Argument That Keeping Bush’s Tax Cuts For The Rich Helps The Economy

Ben Adler at Newsweek punctures the argument that keeping the tax cuts for the rich is good for the economy.

…the argument that…the two highest marginal rates should not be allowed to revert from 33 percent and 36 percent to 35 percent 39.6 percent, respectively, has little relation to macroeconomic reality. The economy performed better under those slightly higher Clinton-era rates than during the Bush era.

Even in the abstract, the claim that increasing by a few percentage points a few rich citizens’ tax rate will harm economic growth is implausible. Outside of yacht manufacturers, Bentley dealers, and real-estate agents on Martha’s Vineyard, not many workers depend on the slight variations in disposable income of the very wealthy for their livelihood.

As the New York Times reports:

“Analyses from the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization, show that less than 3 percent of filers with small-business income pay at the top two income tax rates, and many of those are doctors and lawyers in partnerships.”

Republicans refuse to acknowledge the increased deficit caused by the tax cuts they so love.  You can’t be a both a deficit hawk and a tax cutter. Can you?

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.