T.J. Rodgers: Targeting the Wealthy Kills Jobs

Wall Street Journal ^ | 08/19/2013 | T.J. RODGERS

[SeekAndFind]

One of the signature themes of the Obama administration is that the American dream is under attack due to "income disparity." The words divide the country into haves and have-nots, suggesting a national condition that needs to be corrected—presumably by "progressive" taxation as a mechanism for income redistribution. The American dream has traditionally been one of individual success that is rewarded and admired. But we are now urged to become zero-sum society in which those achieving the American dream are envied and even resented.

The American dream is not politically affiliated. The last time it was alive and well was the period from Ronald Reagan's second term in office through Bill Clinton's second term in office. In those 16 years, we enjoyed continuous low taxes, low government spending and economic prosperity.

Since 2000, the economy has staggered under the record government spending and deficits of two presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The result of that spending spree has been lower real wages and higher and more-persistent unemployment. The Federal Reserve has pushed interest rates to near-zero, and, for the first time ever in the U.S., that Depression-era medicine has not worked—a scary situation reminiscent of Japan's decade-plus economic demise.

According to the latest IRS income-tax data, the top 1% of American taxpayers earned 20% of all income and paid 36% of all taxes. The top 5% earned 36% of all income and paid 58% of all taxes. Will even higher taxes help the economy? My experience in Silicon Valley tells me that high and so-called progressive taxes are a major cause of the country's current economic problems.

In Silicon Valley, the rich commonly reinvest their wealth close to home. For example, I have reinvested most of my net worth in 8.5% of the shares of my own company.

[SeekAndFind]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mr. Rodgers is the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor. Cypress has acted as an incubator for wholly owned subsidiaries which are given a degree of autonomy and has acquired other small technology companies.

They have 14 Design Centers, 40 Sales Offices with 3,600 nationwide.

The company has the following Business Divisions: Memory Product Division, Data Communications Division, Consumer and Computations Division.

[Tennessee Nana]

Yeah thats right...

If we’re all “have-nots” it would be much fairer...

[cloudmountain]

Obama shows his true colors: red, as in communist.

Income disparity is what the free market is all about. Those who get educated, work hard, sacrifice and do the work will succeed. Those who sit on their big fat butts get welfare and continue the GENERATIONS of useless, uneducated and unmotivated American citizens.

The world has seen how communism is a no-win for everyone except the few priviledged-niks

[Repeal The 17th]

I apply this concept to taxation for the purpose of “sharing the wealth”.
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“What would become of the glaziers, if nobody ever broke windows?”
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Frederic Bastiat, 1850
That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen
I. THE BROKEN WINDOW
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http://bastiat.org/en/twisatwins.html#broken_window
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[mom.mom]

Of course. You want the rich to invest in businesses, thus expanding the economic pie for all, not have them donate to the black government hole.

Obviously Obama doesn’t want the economy to grow. He craves power gain and revenge.