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They're worried about the "fiscal cliff," which is when tax cuts expire and spending cuts are set to go into effect at the end of the year.
Originally posted by micmerci
...And they all said 'just tax the wealthy more, that'll fix the problem'. They wont sell off assets. They won't slow the economy. They won't hand out massive layoffs and take their businesses elsewhere. This will work trust me.
Yeah right
Sorry, Republicans, but rich people are not "job creators." They never have been and never will be. No one ever invests in anything to create jobs. Employing people is a by-product of capitalism.
Those are the views of the venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, a multimillionaire who was recently invited to speak at a TED conference. The conferences are well-known gatherings featuring talks on a variety of topics and can be viewed online.
Update: Initially, Hanauer's speech was not posted online, which spurred a controversy that TED reacted to Thursday. The speech appeared on YouTube Thursday, and you can see it here.
Rich people don't create jobs, nor do businesses, large or small. What does lead to more employment is a "circle of life" like feedback loop between customers and businesses. And only consumers can set in motion this virtuous cycle of increasing demand and hiring. In this sense, an ordinary middle-class consumer is far more of a job creator than a capitalist like me.
Hanauer added this little zinger as well: "So when businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it's a little like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it's the other way around."
The views of Hanauer, who made his fortune as an early investor in Amazon (AMZN +0.07%), are not that radical.
The Republican focus on cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires is all wrong. For one thing, wealthy people -- ones with smart investment advisers -- know to put a good chunk of money in tax-free investments such as municipal bonds. Some also minimize their tax burden by putting their money in off-shore tax havens. If those people paid less in taxes, odds are that the windfall would wind up in those accounts. Few, if any, jobs would be created.
Originally posted by DarthMuerte
I am personally aware of four businesses that have laid off employees since the election. Additionally, my partner and I have converted all of our employees to 1099 independent contractors. Only 2 did not want to make the change, so they now can go collect their unemployment for however long that lasts. Beyond that, I know one business that has already closed, the owner decided to just retire and shut his doors after selling all of the fixtures and inventory. That is another 60 people on the dole now. I also know of another business that is for sale with the owner very motivated to sell before December 31st. Good work electing the socialist people. I am willing to bet that these scenes are repeating in most communities all over the country.