Friday, January 8, 2016

The GOP's Pro-Corporate Prescription

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34272-the-gop-s-pro-corporate-prescription
"The bottom line is that these $351 billion in corporate tax breaks over ten years will increase economic growth by about $105 billion. But the $118 billion in tax credits for working families will boost the economy by about $149 billion. In other words, working family tax credits will drive over 40 percent more economic growth at one-third the cost. The reason? Virtually every dollar returned to working people gets pumped back into the local economy. Families spend the money on basics, like rent, childcare, groceries, getting to work, and doctor's bills. Despite what big businesses tell us, reducing corporate taxes has little impact on investment or jobs. Corporations only decide to invest in a new place or hire more people when they believe they can sell more products - not when the taxes they pay on those sales go down. Instead of spending those tax breaks on new hires, corporations are more likely to hike CEO pay and pad their stock price and dividends. So why is the conventional wisdom so wrong? Because corporate front groups and lobbyists - some 1,400 of them in Congress - have spent years peddling the tall tale that corporations are job creators who need lower taxes to do what they do best. Like any myth, repeating it over and over again makes it more believable, even when it's not true. Clearly, working and middle-class families are the engines of the economy. When people have good jobs that can support their families, that provides more customers for businesses and boosts the economy. Remember this when the Republican candidate for president tells you that instead of raising the minimum wage or making childcare or college tuition more affordable, we should cut corporate taxes. It's not just a matter of what's fair - it's that fairness is the biggest driver of economic growth."