Why don't we ever hear that taxing the rich will *grow* the economy?

[Kablooie]

The Pubs always explain that keeping taxes low will grow the economy and create jobs.
On the other side I hear that taxing the rich will be more fair but I never hear anything that refutes the GOP claim about the economy.
The impression is that it will be more fair but may still damage the economy more and eliminate jobs.

No one explains that when the money is given to the rich, much of it goes into offshore, foreign investments or into Wall Street version of craps tables and so does nothing to help America.

Tax money, on the other hand, is all pumped back into our country. Tax money is invested back into America. Fixing roads and bridges creates jobs for materials and tool manufacturers as well as construction workers and project designers. Maintaining parks, and libraries creates American jobs. The space program creates American jobs. The FDA, CIA, FBI, CDC, HUD, etc all create American jobs. Subsidies given to farmers retains their farming jobs during bad years. Even military related expenses create American jobs.

All this is done with tax money and most of it goes right back into the US economy so it can continue to circulate and create even more jobs and demand for products. History seems to have demonstrated this since many boom periods for the economy had higher rates for the rich.

This seems to me like the logical way to create jobs and grow the economy.
If the rich have to pay more of their money back in taxes, it goes right back into the economy and prevents them from using it for investments that don't help our country at all.

To me this is an even stronger reason than simple fairness for increasing taxes on the rich.
Low taxes on the rich *damages* the economy and *eliminates* jobs, just the opposite of what the GOP claims.

I know this is a simplistic way to look at it, I'm no economist, but still some of this seems to make sense and I wish people that knew what they were talking about would start pushing the economic benefits of taxing the rich instead of just talking vaguely about fairness.

[NoOneMan]

1. "Tax money, on the other hand, is all pumped back into our country."

No it isn't. Not when austerity is embraced by all national political parties. While the grand compromise may contain "revenue" increases, it will also contain cuts that will leave less money injected into the economy.

Taxing people does not grow the economy if that money is not injected back into the economy with a multiplier greater than what would exist if left in private individual's hands. Its takes very little to create a positive balance, but it requires actual stimulatory spending, as opposed to the planned cuts.

[yourout]

2. Carrot and a Stick......higher taxes with credits for expansion and hiring.

Make it more profitable to re-invest then to offshore and hide money in tax havens.

[jmowreader]

3. The pre-Reagan tax system was a do-it-yourself tax cut kit...

that made the rich EARN their tax cuts.

Want to save $15,000 a year for the next five years? Buy a new truck for your freight handling division. The dealer who sold it will do well, as will the company that made it and the hundreds of companies that made the parts for it...plus you'll need someone to drive it, and you'll need salesmen to sell enough goods to fill it, people to make those goods and stores to buy them for customers to purchase. All those people will pay taxes. You'll need to buy fuel and maintenance for it; those things employ people and cause more taxes to be paid.

Nowadays, we give the rich a $15,000 tax cut and let them think about buying a truck. Unfortunately, THINKING about doing it is about as far as they usually get.

[ErikJ]

4. If top tax rate too low, the senior execs will drain off the company capital for personal gain

High confiscatory tax rates encourage companies to keep more of their capital in the company and higher pay for employees instead of taking it out for senior level compensation. They figure that if the govt is going to take 90% of any income over $3 million why not just keep the money in the company and more equitably distribute the profits among ALL the employees.

[Johonny]

5. because they plan to cut spending at the same time

I.E. they want to take money out of the economy so that it looks like the tax cuts hurt the economy. That is why you will not get a tax rise out of the Republicans without a drop in government spending. While Obama was trying to recover the economy Republican governors were cutting government jobs left and right. They do not want a recovery or a cover of the national debt coming from progressive operation of the government because it hurts their fake narrative. This is also why I assume they aim at programs like food stamps etc... programs that's spending effect the economy the greatest.