Crooks & Liars: "Analysis Shows Rich People Save, Not Spend. Obvious Solution? Bigger Tax Cuts!"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Analysis Shows Rich People Save, Not Spend. Obvious Solution? Bigger Tax Cuts!

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/analysis-shows-rich-people-save-not-s

November 13, 2010 05:00 PM | By Susie Madrak



I say the solution to this problem is obvious: more tax cuts!

Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc. When taxes were raised under Bill Clinton, the saving rate fell.

The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy. President Barack Obama wants to extend the cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and couples earning less than $250,000 while ending them for those who earn more.

Don't be silly! No, it won't. It will simply point out that previous tax cuts just weren't big enough!

“I would tend to wonder how much the tax cut actually influences spending behavior,” said Chris Cornell, an economist who mined government reports back to 1989 for West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Moody’s Analytics. “Spending by the top 5 percent of households seems much more closely tied to business- cycle issues than it does to tax-cut issues.”

The Moody’s research covering couples earning more than $210,000 found that spending by the wealthy is more likely to be influenced by the ups and downs of the stock market than changes in income-tax rates.

[Hannah Bell]

1. k+r

[rusty charly]

2. Or the new one:

Whenever there's a slightly positive jobs report: "The Bush Tax Cuts are WORKING!"

[kenny blankenship]

3. Tax cuts have been PROVEN to stimulate more tax cuts!

Whatever may possibly go wrong with tax cuts (AS IF!), can always be fixed by later on by further tax cuts. For what reason are governments instituted among men in first place if not to secure the blessings of tax cuts?

[chill_wind]

4. K & R. Thanks for the graphic.

[dkf]

5. Most of these tax cuts are the so-called middle class tax cuts.

Getting rid of the top 2% tax break restores $700 billion. Getting rid of the entire tax cut including the extra $500 child tax credit restores $4 Trillion over 10 years.