pie 2
obviously yesterday i wasn't talking about pie. i was talking about money. when we cut taxes on people who trade this resource we call money, they get more of it. as they get more of it the market for borrowing money becomes more monopoly-like and less free-market-like. which, just like our pie example yesterday, causes the economy to slow down. so from this point of view, the way to heat up the economy is obvious: break the monopoly. tax the people who have lots of money. and i'm not talking about taxing the pie makers who make money by creating wealth that is ultimately shared by everyone in the form of an enhanced standard of living. i'm talking about taxing the poker players who make money by taking money from other people without creating any new wealth in the process. currently, our tax system is upside down. the pie makers pay income tax and corporate tax. some 30%. the poker players pay long term capital gains tax. some 15%. or no tax at all because of loopholes they've bribed politicians for. some 0%! the economy is in the slump it's in today because the middle class lacks the capital it needs to finance its small business ventures. and has to buy operating capital from the upper class. and pays through the nose. which exacerbates the problem. things are not going to get better until we get our tax system right side up.