Class warfareReader comment on: What the GOP Would Do Submitted by benjamin (United States), Aug 5, 2010 13:49 These three items would benefit the richest people in the country. The inheritance tax only kicks in for people over 3.5 million (next year), which contrary to what the right often cites will affect virtually no family farms, only folks like the Waltons and Buffetts. Reducing corporate tax rates will increase the bottom line of corporate America, helping those most invested in the stock market (wealthy people - yes, many middle class people have pension funds, 401ks etc, but believing that corporate tax cuts will "trickle down" in a meaningful way is fanciful). Abolishing capital gains taxes will benefit the rich primarily as well. Things could not be clearer. Republicans, despite all the faux populism, are the party of the rich. Democrats are the party of the middle class. The irony of course is that the past decade, with Republican policies, the economy hit a ditch. Trickle down economics - supply side economics - does not work. The key to prosperity is a thriving middle class. Investing in the middle class leads to greater prosperity for everyone, including the rich. If only people would keep their ideology from clouding the empirical evidence, we could get somewhere. Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing. The Future of Capitalism replies: Even Economists for Obama and the Brookings Urban Institute Tax policy center (center left) say that there's disagreement over who pays the corporate tax and that "Some—but not all—models show that, under certain circumstances, much of the tax can fall on workers." http://econ4obama.blogspot.com/2008/06/who-pays-corporate-tax.html The empirical evidence isn't as clear cut on all this as your comment suggests it is. In addition corporations can move their activities around to places where taxes are lower. I also think that "the rich" are not as static a class as you suggest. Some entrepreneur who starts poor, works a long time, builds a business and eventually sells it for $1 million looks "rich" the year he sells it, but may be middle class or poor in the preceding or following years if you look at income but not assets. Abolishing the capital gains tax helps him. Does that mean it helps "the rich," or just people who build businesses rather than people who earn steady salaries (like from the government) for long periods of time, which may over time add up to just as much money as the $1 million. Example: a city clerical worker who earns $50,000 a year for 20 years. Other reader comments on this item
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