The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Stimulating the Rich: How many jobs will they need to create to keep their tax cut?

    By erica20 on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 4:12pm |

    A Million. By Christmas. And then they should keep going, for a total of 1.5 Million Jobs by June of next year. Otherwise their tax cut is toast.

    Here's how I got this number. I saw a report that the private sector added 114,000 jobs last month, which was actually better than the 100,000 expected. Rich people can do better than this--so let's tell them that if they want to keep their tax cut, they need to create 200,000 private sector jobs a month for a total of 1 Million jobs by Christmas. Then they get to slow down a bit and reach 1.5 Million by June of next year.

    Some might see this as Tea-Party style hostage taking, but I think it's just putting Rich People in Charge of Job Creation and providing free-market incentives for them. (In other words, no interference from the rest of us.) If they want to be called Job Creators, it's time to stand up and deliver some actual numbers. I think of it as a kind of "No Rich Person Left Behind." If Rich People fail to deliver, they lose some of their funding. If it's good enough for America's schools, it should be good enough for America's Rich.

    Thoughts, everyone?

    Comments

    I continue to think it's a great idea. I tweeted it to all the news people I could think of. I can't help but think that SOMEONE will hear this and run with it. It just makes ALL KINDS OF SENSE.

    So far I am not hearing anything like this from anywhere else, and it doesn't seem to be getting much traction here, and I'm wondering why?

    Seems like being asked to put their money where their mouths are is the perfect solution. If the government is the problem and not the solution, then the "job creators" need to step up. They've had these tax breaks for YEARS and I'm not seeing any job creating going on, just report after report of how much richer they are getting.


    by stillidealistic on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 8:52pm

    But I think the numbers are a little low. We need more than a 1.5 million to get this economy back on track!


    by stillidealistic on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 8:53pm

    Hi Stilli,

    I think there are a couple of reasons for the lack of traction. (Thank you for saying nice things, by the way, that means a lot.)

    First, although it feels like a good idea, I don't think it's crystallized yet. It could be a Facebook page, it could be a bill in Congress, it could be a piece of satire, it could be a call to action. And I don't think I have it clear enough in my own mind or have run it by enough people to really know yet. If I worked on it some, I could probably turn it into an acceptable piece of satire but I'd like it to have more legs than that. Not sure how to achieve that.

    Second, the numbers--is a million jobs by Christmas enough? Maybe it needs to be two million...

    Third, this one could go either way--take out some of the snark and it's almost...republican. "Why yes, I see now that Uncle Sam wants me...to hire an American today!"

    So there's work to do, and a bit of time to do it, I think. I've had these kinds of ideas before, as you know, and it does take some planning to get it to go viral and stay that way. Please keep talking to folks in the blogosphere, I'll do the same, and hopefully soon more Dems will get the idea about playing hardball and some Tea Partiers will figure out that the Republican elite does NOT represent jobs for Americans....


    by erica20 on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 10:38pm

    Will do, Erica. I have a few contacts with big FB numbers and blogs of their own, so I'll pass the idea along.

    It frustrates me that so many regulars are not jumping on this and making noise. I understand the urge to sit back and bash Obama, but this is a positive approach that should be able to get some attention. Accountability. Making them produce or explain why the hell not.


    by stillidealistic on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 11:17pm

    Thanks, Stilli!

    I think lots of people are still a little shell-shocked about the debt thing. Folks will rally and fight again....


    by erica20 on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 11:39pm

    Erica, I very much like your thinking.  As you say, the "it" is not crystallized yet into a specific act or proposal, so I find it difficult to know what to promote.  I will call attention to it on my FB page.  If and when there is something specific you would like us to do beyond that I hope you'll ask us.  


    by AmericanDreamer on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 11:35am

    I, too, think it's a great idea, but rather than track it in millions of jobs, how about in percentage points of unemployment. Here's my proposal:

    • A reduction of 1% unemployment by Christmas while keeping median wages where they are or higher.

    by Verified Atheist on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 6:01am

    We should give this some thought. I like the idea of using numbers of jobs because it will appeal to the ordinary person. Seems like somebody would be a more likely to say "I'd like to be one of that 2 Million" than "I'd like to be part of that 1%."

    So how about "2 Million good-paying jobs by Christmas" (which probably translates to a 1% drop in unemployment with no decrease in median wage....) then the follow-on line could be "C'mon Rich People, earn your x% tax cut by dropping unemployment by 1%. It's only fair."

    I do have a question--how long have the rich had this tax cut? And during that time, how many jobs have they added to the economy?  (I suspect the number will be a negative.)

     

     


    by erica20 on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 4:21pm

    Sounds good to me, although I want to insist on the caveat that median wages don't drop as a result of those new jobs, or at the very least that they don't drop in a statistically significant manner.

    As for the number of jobs added during this tax cut, it's definitely a negative number.


    by Verified Atheist on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 4:24pm

    I do have a question--how long have the rich had this tax cut?

    This would need verification but looks correct:

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    The Bush tax cuts refers to two laws created and passed during the presidency of George W. Bush that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States. These were the:

    While each act has its own legislative history and effect on the tax code, the JGTRRA amplified and accelerated aspects of the EGTRRA. Moreover, since 2003 the two acts have often been spoken of together, especially in terms of analyzing their effect on the U.S. economy and population and in discussing their political ramifications.

    And during that time, how many jobs have they added to the economy?  (I suspect the number will be a negative.)

    We had no net new job creation for the first decade of this century--the first time that we did not have positive job creation in the US since the 1930s.  Try emailing someone at the Economic Policy Institute press office to get what you want.  They're a progressive advocacy organization, not a government agency.  But they are reputable, they don't play fast and loose with the data like some advocacy groups do, and may help you figure out exactly what data you want if you're not sure.  You can also ask them for a contact to verify the info with the appropriate government agency or official provider of the jobs figures.


    by AmericanDreamer on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 4:52pm

    Thank you, American Dreamer. I will follow up.

    I did e-mail the President today, suggesting that he use his 3-day bus tour to talk instead of listen--and to suggest that now that the Republicans have clearly put the government out of the business of creating jobs, the onus falls on our other "Job Creators," namely rich people in the private sector. So it's up to them (the "Job Creators") to create 2 Million good paying (meaning no drop in median wage) jobs by Christmas or the rest of us are going to take their tax cut and use it for job creation in 2012. So they'll have a few months to make something of their tax cut or get it yanked.

    I also suggested that he keep it really simple and clear, so that by Christmas, even the most low-information voter would understand that their true interests are not served by the Tea Party or the Republican Elite, but by Democrats.

    Sigh. I'm pretty sure nobody ever reads those e-mails.


    by erica20 on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 12:57am

    Sigh. I'm pretty sure nobody ever reads those e-mails.

    Well, you never know.  Good for you for making the effort and for putting your thinking out there here at dag.  I hope it gets traction, I really do.  It's one of the more creative ideas I've come across on this huge problem.  And it has the great benefit of lending itself to readily comprehensible humor and ridicule of bad arguments.  Please keep us posted and I hope you'll ask for specific, manageable things we can do to help.


    by AmericanDreamer on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 12:36am

    Given globalization no one , and no policy,  is capable of creating new jobs as fast as we are losing them.


    by Flavius on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 6:28am

    Oh Flavius, you with your smartyness and liberal bias and stuff, you would say that! American Rich People are the best people on Earth! The Best People on Earth! And if we'd all just get out of their way, they could turn this tide!

    For example, nobody makes expensive stuff that will eventually explode in foreign countries as well as we do! That is good business!

    Sorry, I got a little carried away there.

    I agree with you--but lots of Americans still believe, and that belief is creating warped beliefs about how we ought to take care of each other in the coming years. So I say take the tax cut hostage and put the private sector in charge of the ransom. People will learn a lot from the drama.....


    by erica20 on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 11:26am

    For example, nobody makes expensive stuff that will eventually explode in foreign countries as well as we do!

    I don't know, Sony was doing a pretty good job with their laptop batteries for a while...


    by Verified Atheist on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 11:38am

    Nice one, VA!


    by erica20 on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 4:11pm

    People are people. Having money or being American doesn't change that.

    Microsoft is a tough competitor and most likely behaves illegally when the prize is worth it. I've never known any company of which that wasn't true. But Bill Gates seems to be trying to do some good.

    Giving any group of people absolute power is bound to do what Lord Acton said  whether that's a group of the rich or the homeless.

    Same effect on the people we elect President. The victim belongs to the spoils.

     

     


    by Flavius on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 12:55pm

    The victim belongs to the spoils....ewww. None of us will be able to sleep tonight, thinking about that.


    by erica20 on Thu, 08/04/2011 - 4:23pm