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From: mc68020@gilbbs.UUCP (Thomas J Keller)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: Unemployment shifting
Message-ID: <907@gilbbs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Sep-86 15:39:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: gilbbs.907
Posted: Sat Sep 13 15:39:27 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 15-Sep-86 05:47:46 EDT
References: <1291@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: Gil's Place, Santa Rosa CA
Lines: 49
Summary: more 'libertarian' misinformation

In article <1291@drutx.UUCP>, dlo@drutx.UUCP (OlsonDL) writes:
> Since government produces no wealth of its own, what wealth it has comes
> from the private sector via taxes.
> 
> Suppose it requires 1 unit of wealth to provide/maintain 1 job.  So, for
> 10 jobs it would require 10 units -- not 9, not 9.826, but 10.  Let's
> say that XYZ Widget Company produces 10 units for 10 jobs.  To provide 1
> government job, government takes 1 unit as a tax from XYZ, and sure enough
> 1 government job is "created" (BTW, this is an at-best scenario, since for
> this to happen, government would have to be 100% efficient).  Oh but wait,
> XYZ now has only 9 units -- 1 less unit for 1 less job.  "Sorry buddy.  I
> can no longer afford to pay for 10 jobs, only 9.  You're out!"

   Hold the phone!  This is the sort of deliberate misinformation and dishonest
argumentation about which I have been complaing all along.  'Libertarians'
seem to just love this sort of bull puckey.

   Assume for the sake of argument that there are, say, 150 million tax paying
entities in the US.  Assume further that some 500,000 of them are "corporate"
entities (a delightful fiction which the 'libertarians' ought to love, the
legal assignation of *INDIVIDUAL* rights and privileges to an organization).
Let us further assume that the US government determines that it is desireable
to generate 500,000 juobs (most probably training postions).  Each taxed 
entity will be paying 1/30 of the real cost of providing these jobs.  Thus,
at *MOST*, XYZ Widget Co. pays 1/30 of one unit.  

   Of course, this ignores the reality that corporate entities (businesses,
really) ****DON'T PAY TAXES****.  Face it, it's true.  The cost of taxes paid
by any properly managed business are passed on to the clients or customers of
that business, through higher prices.  Thus, taxes may be paid *THROUGH* a
business, but seldom, if ever, are taxes paid *BY* a business.

   The 'libertarian' also conveniently ignores that possibility that such a
jobs program does not necessarily have to result in an increase in taxation.
It is thouroughly possible to simply build two fewer B1 bombers, or to cease
wasting billions of dollars on SDI in order to provide a service of much 
greater benefit to society as a whole.  But 'libertarians' don't want to
discuss this point, because then they can only fall back on their BS argument
that any form of taxation is thievery.


-- 

Disclaimer:  Disclaimer?  DISCLAIMER!? I don't need no stinking DISCLAIMER!!!

tom keller					"She's alive, ALIVE!"
{ihnp4, dual}!ptsfa!gilbbs!mc68020

(* we may not be big, but we're small! *)