Here comes the argument again. You can't raise taxes on the job creators. We're going to hear the republicans tell us that President Obama's proposal today to continue the tax rates for a year for all those earning less than $250,000 a year, while allowing the tax rates to rise to pre-2002 levels for those with incomes higher than that threshhold, will destroy the incentive for those who create jobs to move forward.

My first reaction........Bull!

My second reaction is that if the richest Americans are truly the job creators, this continuation of low taxation rates on the vast majority of Americans should be the best possible news for all Americans. There are facts that are in play that have never been refuted.

1. Those who are earning in the top 2% of wage earners are paying their lowest tax rates in over 55 years.
2. The lower income tax rates have not led to a direct translation to jobs in the past decade.
3. Well over two trillion dollars of corporate money has been kept out of the industrial and business base throughout the past ten years
4. The federal deficit will only be decreased if there is a combination of additional revenue and decreased spending.
5. Historically, businesses have their greatest growth during periods of higher taxation. The reason for this is that business growth places money into the economy, which in turn creates demand for business products, which in turn fuel growth and hiring, which increase government revenue, which continues to decrease deficit.
6. The temporary tax roll backs of twelve years ago have led to the widest income discrepances in the history of this nation. Those discrepancies continue to expand. There is a need for a measure of tax fairness.

The reality is that the real job creators in America are the American workers. By having more workers in the economy, more wealth is created for all and not stashed away. The battle over taxation is a battle over 3-4 points in tax code only for income levels above $250,000. That means that a person earning $300,000 a year would pay $1500 additionally in tax, a person making a million dollars a year would pay approximately $22,500 in additional tax. Compare this with the republican tax restructuring plan that would give that same individual who makes a million dollars a year, a tax decrease of almost $100,000 while they would simultaneously raise the taxes of the individual earning $50,000 by $1000 a year.

We are going to hear a lot about tax fairness and income distribution during the upcoming months. There is a reality that the American tax system is totally fouled up. The reality is that the republican and democratic visions for the reform of that system are diametrically opposite. The republican vision is one that looks at the rich and the corporation and decides that making them wealthier is the best possible plan for America. The democratic vision is one that says that the American system of progressive taxation was designed originally to allow those who are most successful to hold on to more money than those who are less successful, but that taxation should not be a burden that is placed unreasonably on those Americans working hard to live the American dream on a day to day basis. The democrats are seeking to keep that dream alive for all of us, while the republicans are outsourcing the administration of that dream to the wealthy and the corporation.

I know how I want to keep my American dreams alive. How about you?