In case the six-minute Nick Hanauer TED talk I keep linking to hasn’t persuaded your uncle, now comes Marcus Ryu to seal the deal. Please read and forward.
. . . I am what certain politicians call a “job creator.” Two recessions ago, in 2001, five partners and I founded a software company in Silicon Valley. After great difficulty and great good fortune, that company grew to serve customers in over 30 countries, generating over $500 million in annual revenue and employing more than 2,000 professionals in high-skilled, high-paying jobs — a large majority of them in the United States. Today I am the chief executive of that company, Guidewire Software, valued on the New York Stock Exchange at over $5 billion.
As an entrepreneur myself and a friend to many others, I know that lower tax rates will not motivate more people to start companies. . . .
He makes such a persuasive case — it’s a quick and easy read.
President Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy, even as the economy was weak, and we gained 23 million jobs during his eight years. President Bush then slashed them — and we gained fewer than 1 million during his eight years, even as we massively increased inequality, exploded the National Debt, and allowed our infrastructure to crumble. President Obama raised them again and we enjoyed 75 consecutive months of job growth — more than 2 million jobs each of the last six years of his presidency.
So if your overarching goal is to ease the burdens of the wealthy, stand with Trump and the Republicans — National Debt and crumbling infrastructure be damned.
But if you’d like to see millions of Americans put to work at good jobs revitalizing our infrastructure, and/or health care co-pays and deductibles reduced — and inequality reduced — the better plan is to raise taxes a little (not a lot!) on those who can best afford to pay.
