I'm not saying it's totally unrelated. I'm just saying that this idea that lowering taxes on the mega business tycoons is somehow going to magically create jobs is bogus, and to say that a lower tax rate is the fundemantal reason for business leaving the country is absurd, considering the slave wages paid overseas, along with non existing labor laws.
Not individual taxes. We are talking about corp tax rates and regulations. The rich business owners pay little to no taxes so cutting their tax rates is not the issue.
Yet again we are caught in a circle, i have said it a few times before, im not for drastically reducing taxes with no conditions at the present time, only because it takes to long for it to work, just as it takes to long for it to work when you simply tax the shit out of someone and try to create government jobs. What i would do is subsidize businesses through tax breaks for creating jobs over here. There is no question that the free market deploys capital much more efficiently then government ever will, so what needs to be done is something to boost job creation in the private sector, such as tax subsidies for businesses creating jobs. Now we are right where we started lower taxes would create jobs, and increase demand, and high taxes cause businesses to leave and reduces jobs. The bottom line is that every business which moves over seas for favourable tax treatment equates to many more people out of a job, both government, and private sector employees. So you can tax them till they leave, or work with them and maybe get it fixed. Guess what, you can either lower the taxes and take the chance that the businesses might create jobs, or you can raise them and cause them to leave killing hundreds of jobs at a time.
Personally, in terms of a stimulus, (in addition to cutting spending where politically feasible) I think we should have just started cutting a quarterly check to every adult citizen, doling the money out at a "sustainable" (I know, I know) rate directly to those who would spend it, those who account for over two-thirds of economic activity. Edit: I mean, if you're going to borrow from future labor, and saddle your kids with the debt, at least spend the money where it will count.
How does simply cutting everyperson without a job entail spending "money where it will count?" Atleast if you put it in the hands of businesses who are hiring, some of the people would have a job at the end. Not everyone would end up losing their job if they were hired on through the private sector through a tax break. There are plenty of workers who would be worth keeping on. If you just dole out the money to everyone who is currently unemployed, there would be plenty of people who would do everything in their power to figure out a way in which they can scam the government for free money, and they would produce nothing. Plus the businesses would be able to produce new product and come up with new innovations if they were to hire people on, since they have more man power. There are far to many people who already abuse employment insurance and welfare who contribute nothing to society to just give everyone who wants money a cheque.
The problem is, businesses are not hiring because they are not making sales. It's not lack of money, in fact business in general has just reached an all time high for cash holdings. But even if they didn't have all that cash, credit is out there. But the lenders are being tight-fisted right now. Why? Because no one is making sales, and they know it. I'm speaking in over-statement tone, of course, since some sectors are doing better than others.
What better way is there to stimulate spending then giving someone who is unemployed a job in the most efficient way possible?
Well, I will grant that this worked in the past. The government put millions of people to work in the 30's, rebuilding infrastructure. Hmm, that works for me. Infrastructure is good.