Mike,
Thom Hartmann's article in Truthout is really only a rationalization of the
casual remark he quotes from his Danish friend which made an impression on him:
"You Americans are such suckers," he said, as I recall. "You think that the
rules for taxes that apply to rich people also apply to working people. But
they don't. When working peoples' taxes go up, their pay goes up. When
their taxes go down, their pay goes down. It may take a year or two or
three to all even out, but it always works this way - look at any country
in Europe. And it's the opposite of how it works for rich people!"
But what his Danish friend failed to point out is that most people's
incomes in Denmark (6 out of 10 employees) are topped up by the state.
(They almost have a Basic Income already!) And it is of little relevance to
quote David Ricardo's Iron Law of Wages (1817), as he does, because in
those days almost the whole of the average worker's income (mostly farm
labourers') was spent on food alone. If wages didn't adjust to food prices
then farm labourers and their families would go extinct.The Consumer
Society had barely started in those days. Also, Denmark's tax system is
hardly progressive -- as we understand the term -- with extremely high
taxes for the rich alone. All net taxpayers (4 out of 10 employees) pay tax
in the range between 43% and 63% which is almost flat-rate. And those who
are paying net taxes are getting a bit fed up of subsidizing the rest
because there are now strong calls for income tax reductions now that the
recession is hitting them in much the same way as any other developed country.
Keith Hudson
At 13:33 25/07/2009 -0300, you wrote:
> ...things you need if you're going to have a real economic recovery.
> Unfortunately for CAT, these things aren't selling.
In my rural/small-town area, the only heavy equipment business,
selling and maintaining dozers, cranes, backhoes, timberjacks and the
like for over two generations, went out of business a couple of years
ago. Their premises were quickly taken over by a business selling
Winnebagos and other $100,000-plus "RVs" which used the move to expand
their front line. Say what? Hmmmm??
As to where the money would come from for a guaranteed minimum income
or similar program, this recent article might be of interest (although
I can't personally verify the author's lead-off assertion that when
taxes go up on the working class, their incomes soon go up to
compensate.)
http://www.truthout.org/072509Z
- Mike
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