Trickle-Down Has Equaled Only a Trickle of Jobs

COMMENTARY | It seems President Obama is figuring out that what Americans have long figured out: Congress is the antonym for progress. Obama reprimanded lawmakers at his press conference Wednesday for dragging their feet regarding negotiations over raising the debt limit, which America will exceed Aug. 2. A point of contention during the negotiations has been whether to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. It is absurd that we have to debate raising taxes for the wealthy while the middle class languishes in economic deprivation.

Numbers Don't Lie

As a country, we sometimes let our political leanings hinder logical thought. Let's take the Republican adage that raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans will further harm the American economy. This argument is false, and that's not me saying it; it's statistics.

According to the Washington Post, in 2008, following eight years of a tax-cutting bonanza by the Bush administration, the wealthiest 10 percent of this country earned the same amount of income as the other 90 percent. In 1975, the top 0.1 percent in America earned 2.6 percent of the nation's income. By 2008, that number grew to 10.4 percent. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office shows during this same period that wages for other income groups have remained stagnant.

Don't like numbers? Then look at it like this: According to the CIA Factbook, America's income gap is worse than Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen - you know, the world's economic engines. This is not capitalism at its best; it's a disgrace.

Trickle Down Disproved

What would the Republicans have us do about this disparity? You guessed it: continue to keep the lowest tax rates since the 1950s. In 2001 and 2003, President Bush slashed taxes for every income bracket. What was the return on this investment? The Bush administration created 3 million jobs in eight years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Republican punching bag Jimmy Carter created 10.5 million. But let's give President Bush the benefit of the doubt. It is true he had to deal with 9/11 and two wars, even though at least one was of his choosing. The right would have us look to Ronald Reagan for all solutions to the nation's problems.

As president, Reagan created 16 million jobs; an impressive number that Republicans attribute to Reagan's tax cuts. What Republicans never point out is that President Reagan tripled the national debt in eight years. Under Reagan, the national debt went from about $900 billion to $2.8 trillion, according to Whitehouse.gov. Any president with the luxury of tripling the national debt could create jobs. Unless Republicans advocate a debt of over $40 trillion, perhaps they should forget about the "Great Communicator" for now.

Common Sense

The Republicans constantly argue that we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. In fact, we have both. The middle class is being bled year after year while the top wage-earners and corporations make record profits. In the name of keeping America solvent, can't the wealthy afford to give more? Perhaps $250,000 a year shouldn't be considered wealthy; then congressional leaders should compromise an appropriate measure. But the refusal of Republicans to even consider tax increases is wrong and detrimental to this country. America is at a crossroads, and to preserve what is left of the American dream we are all going to have to sacrifice. Last I checked, ALL meant everyone!