TAX-WAGE AND TAX-EDUCATION DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Morning Joe (MSNBC) this morning was a perfect synopsis of the entire Republican presidential campaign. Of course, the Morning Joe show was still a miniature rendition of the Fox News, which means you cannot take what they say at face value. The Galleria of guests was Republican presidential candidate George Pataki and radical right wing news commentator Nicole Wallace. Joe Scarborough was there along with Mika Brzezinski gushing all over every word Joe uttered. The focus of the attack was on a tax increase Connecticut has on the horizon. Their message was a winning one; cut taxes and everyone will live happily ever after. The “below the fold” message was that they are not talking about cutting taxes on the people but cutting taxes on businesses to zero. Of course, all the people hear is the part about cutting taxes. The logic is by raising taxes in Connecticut, it will drive big companies out of the state, which means big companies will take their jobs to where taxes are lower or none existent. The host and guest threw around the names of several big specific companies, with the note that these companies can and will move to states where the taxes are already zero. In other words, they want Connecticut to join that group. The guests threw around suggestions such as not to raises taxes but lower them on corporations to 12%. Of course, Joe threw in that Pensacola, Florida has a zero tax rate. There is a reason I refer to people like this as pothole Republicans. In other words, they did not mention the consequences to the state. The expectation is that companies will move into the low tax state bring massive numbers of jobs with them. Also, the people will expect to lower taxes on themselves as well. Lowering corporate taxes will create a bed of roses, when in truth it will create a disaster. If you are a Republican, on what do you blame income disparity? State after state has bought into this and has lowered taxes to attract businesses where they can increase profits. As we saw on Morning Joe, this puts pressure on other states to lower their taxes, which creates the exact cycle big business wants, which is Reaganomics; all the money moves to the top. Corporate wealth has skyrocketed because the increase in profits has gone into their pockets and not into increasing wages or into upgrading the community; we end up with minimum wage jobs and potholes in our streets. All we have to do is look around at the very thing they say they want to fix by making it worse—income disparity—somehow that makes sense in the GOP mind. Nicole Wallace was especially repugnant when she commented on public schools. Her line of reasoning is that public schools are bad because they have bad teachers, and they have bad teachers because of teacher’s unions. She did not say it, but somehow in her twisted mind, she connects low taxes to bad unions. We all know that if the people cut taxes state and city governments cannot support schools, which includes teachers. Our public schools have leaky roofs for the same reason our college tuition is high. All I could do this morning was shake my head in disbelief as I listened to her and the others on Morning Joe. By asking for tax cuts, they sincerely believe wages will go up, and public schools will become better. Obviously, like the Reaganomics wage-profit cycle, the tax-education cycle is another downward spiral. Of course, the tragedy is that many voters believe this as well. URL: firetreepub.blogspot.com Comments Invited and not moderated