This is an interesting issue. The simple view is that “the rich” are the job creators, and should be left alone to plough capital back into the economy in order to create jobs. The reason that theory is currently failing is because our vast, beleaguered middle class are really the ones that “create” jobs by demanding products that swashbuckling entrepreneurs can then supply. There is no successful or honest economic model that reverses the ancient demand/supply matrix.

Add in the concept that the tax code is a giant social engineering tool, designed to coax the money of people who itemize deductions – in order to reduce their tax burden – into very specific directions: Either business/property/investment or charity. All of which actively churn money back into the economy, rather than allow lucre to sit idle in savings accounts waiting for the economy to get well.

So as odd as it sounds, allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to sunset will help the economy far more than waging a fiscal war by blindly swinging a rigid ideological theory over our heads. In an heroic effort to avoid paying those extra few % the wealthy will actively invest more of their money in our economy. But don’t take my word for it. Go ask their accountants.

Today’s cartoon was created to go with a special series – dealing with the inordinate costs associated with overly-profligate NY State lawmakers’ legislative offices – that our Albany bureau put together, called The Platinum Legislature. As an aside, we put out a series called the Gold Plated Legislature 25 years ago – dealing with the inordinate costs associated with overly-profligate NY State lawmakers’ legislative offices.