Trickle Down Trauma: The GOP’s Economic Smothering Of America

http://www.politicususa.com/en/trickle-down-smother

Most Americans are not economic experts, but on some level nearly every adult in this country understands that at some point cutting spending, the deficit, and taxes is never going to create jobs or boost the economy. Republicans though, have maintained that government spending, the nation’s deficit, and high tax rates for the wealthy are responsible for job losses and the sluggish economy. However, their contentions are fallacious even though they have convinced their base and ignorant racists that President Obama’s jobs bill is “bloated government spending” that, like the first stimulus, will not create one job and unfairly target the wealthy “job creators” who require more tax cuts to begin hiring. This past week, Senate Republicans filibustered one part of the president’s jobs bill that would aid states to avoid laying off teachers, fire fighters, and police officers because it included a tax increase on the so-called job creators; they did not allow it to come up for a vote.

The $35 billion bill should not have been controversial because it either saved or created jobs in every state, but since Republicans are focused on keeping Americans unemployed at all costs, every Republican Senator voted against the measure. They were joined by two Democrats and one Independent who also wanted to maintain or grow the unemployment numbers in their own states as well as the entire country. Republicans cannot say the $35 billion plan was unfunded or would add to the national debt because Democrats, with the President’s blessings, added a tax on the wealthiest Americans to pay for the bill. Since Republicans are committed to keeping Americans unemployed and destitute, the notion of a tax increase on the wealthy provided the perfect excuse to oppose the bill.

Republicans were repulsed that Democrats dared to include a tax increase on the wealthy to pay for creating jobs in all 50 states. If the measure had passed, millionaires and billionaires would have seen a debilitating 0.5% increase in their taxes. The bill would have provided money directly to states to prevent further layoffs of teachers, police officers, and firefighters at the local level. Similar measures have received bipartisan support in the past, but Republicans are not going to allow any legislation to help the economy or create jobs pass before the next election. In blocking the bill, Republicans not only killed a simple part of President Obama’s jobs plan, they are also keeping much-needed cash from being injected into the economy. It is just another example of Republican attempts to sink the economy.

The jobs saved would have allowed teachers, firefighters, and police officers to continue making mortgage payments, feed their families, and spend cash in their localities that in turn would stimulate local businesses and create more jobs. The simple economic facts are that 70% of the economy is consumer spending that is flat or dropping because consumers are losing their jobs, and without their spending, businesses cannot hire because they lack customers to buy their goods and services. It is a vicious cycle that Republicans are aware of and the tax increase on billionaires and millionaires is just a fact the GOP is using to incite opposition from their base. Apparently, 0.5% tax increase on the wealthiest Americans is too much for Republicans to stomach regardless that their constituents would benefit from the plan.

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