How the Next President Can Return America to Prosperity

Glad you asked, Chris.

True enough, actors' and athletes pay HAS risen to points of absurdity, paid for by citizen fans. It has done so, in part, because of elimination of the old high tax brackets (at the astronomical end---say, $10 million a year and up) that previously discouraged movie producers and sports teams from bidding their stars up so high.

As for taxes being there to punish the rich, they aren't. They are there, first of all, to FUND government and collective endeavors that private enterprise cannot and does not provide (defense, courts/prison, roads, police, lots of other things to numerous to mention and yes, Social Security/ Medicare too).

They are there secondly, not to redistribute from rich to poor, but to prevent the otherwise inevitable (see Pareto and his law) redistribution that constantly occurs in any society from the poorest 80% to the richest 20%. In the example of the first paragraph, you see, you're worried about whether A-Rod gets to keep more of his quarter-billion-dollar contract. I'm worried about whether fans are over-paying badly for his "services" in the first place---together with those of the actors and the CEOs and the traders and others. I contend that the citizens (even as dumbly "willing" participants), are being soaked by these select few guys and that steeply escalating tax brackets have a way of both preventing the excesses and mitigating the damage. Meanwhile, too, there is the pesky little problem of un-ending deficits.

Daniel David of NM @ Jul 02, 2008 16:27:09 PM

Daniel, worker pay has risen. Period. There is enough empirical evidence that proves it. Did it rise as fast as CEO pay? No, it didn't, but then again, why don't people like you, who are so worried about the "little guy", ever bring up the fact that actors' and athletes' pay has risen just as fast?

One other thing that James didn't mention in there is that Paul Volcker had done a terrific job in combatting inflation, and this, along with lowered tax rates, helped the working American out tremendously.

One other thing. What FDR had done may have been a temporary shot in the arm, but we are still suffering from the long-term effects of the New Deal. Social Security anyone?

This obsession with trying to punish the rich because they happened to make it is starting to get tiresome. Daniel, what I want you to tell me is 1) who exactly the rich and 2) how exactly do the poor benefit by taking from the rich, giving to the government, and then redistributing the wealth to the poor?

Chris of AZ @ Jul 02, 2008 13:39:48 PM