What’s That On Your FACE?! January 23, 2015 Yesterday I argued two things: > We don’t have to pay down the National Debt. > Taxing the wealthy will not cost jobs. These are fundamental misunderstandings the right has used to great political advantage, benefiting the very best off to the detriment of everyone else. DEBT: Unless we’re planning to close up shop as a nation, it’s fine to carry debt. The goal should not be to pay down — let alone pay off — our National Debt; merely to have it grow slower than the economy in most years, as it did from 1946 to 1980. (If only Reagan/Bush had understood this! Instead, by slashing taxes on the wealthy, they quadrupled the Debt. If only the second Bush had understood this! By slashing those taxes still further, he nearly doubled it — and handed Obama an economy in such nose-dive it required tremendous deficits to set right. By contrast, Clinton succeeded — and now Obama has succeeded — in cutting the deficit such that the Debt is again shrinking relative to the economy as a whole. Which except in recession years is exactly what you want it to do.) TAXES: Redistributing life’s financial burdens back a bit toward the wealthy — after decades of shifting the other way — will not hurt the economy. I love the wealthy! In a modest way, I’m one of the wealthy! But the economy will grow better with less inequality and a more robust middle class. See yesterday’s post if you’re not already sold on this. > To help move the President’s agenda with your activism, click here. > To persuade a friend or loved one to get affordable health coverage, take 56 seconds to watch this — what’s that on your face?! — and then forward it to said friend or loved one. # NEXT ISSUE The last thing I need is more stuff to read; and at $14.95/month for the full slate, Next Issue ain’t cheap. But consider the upside: unlimited access to current and back issues of 140 magazines, including, I’d guess, most of the ones you already subscribe to . . . whenever you want, wherever you are . . . on your phone, iPad, and computer. At no cost to the planet. No paper, no ink, no chemicals, no delivery trucks. Try it FREE for 60 days and make a note in your calendar to cancel at any time thereafter if it turns out not to be your thing. [Full disclosure: If you sign up and don’t cancel, and if I’ve not botched the referral link, I will allegedly get a $25 gift certificate. Oh, boy!]