Doug the MBA

The Mind of the Obama Follower does not understand that Tax and Wage Increases on Business Hurts The Middle Class


That's the title of a new(ish) screed from Teh Loon. Here's a typical piece of brilliance from Doug Gibbs;

A few weeks ago I caught a radio program that had a caller that said to the host, "One of the solutions to our economy is to increase wages across the board so that people can have more money in their pocket."
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I realize this is not typical of people to believe such idiocy. After all, this is a largely center-right nation that abhors the idea of worsening the economy any worse than it is. But there are a great many folks that actually think as did this caller. They think about what is on the surface, or what fits their bill the best, or what will help the wallet the most directly in the short term, but they never consider the long term ramifications of such actions, or decisions.

Wages, like taxes, are to a business owner just another cost of doing business. Large corporations will survive the increase of wages and taxes, for the most part, by simply passing the increased cost on to the consumer. So, with increased minimum wages, or wages increased to a "living wage" as the liberals call it, you may be making more in your paycheck, but in the long run, it will all catch up to you in the higher cost of goods, services, and so forth.

Small businesses, however, are destroyed by higher taxes and wages. And small business is the link between the wealthy, and the middle class. Although large corporations create a great number of jobs, move goods, and are essential to our economy, the small business is the life blood of our economy. And this is where the majority of the product and services movement in our economy comes from.

Doug doesn't understand the basics of small business. It's pretty stunning how wrong he is, but what really amuses me is the degree of assurance he has that he's absolutely correct, and everyone else is the "idiot".

Anyway.. I left a comment for him that he deleted, of course. The big point is that most small businesses do not pay any taxes at all. This is because the business owner pays himself the profits of the company. That's an expense to the company, and so the net profit of the company is zero, or close to zero. The tax burden on zero.. is zero.. The business owner pays his normal income taxes of course, and higher wages would eat into that profit. Nobody is suggesting that there should be any wage controls beyond minimum wage.

I swear.. he's the dumbest and most assured "blogger" on the planet. It's so awesome.. Oh.. and if you like, check out the comment on the blog from SkyDiveRick. It's glorious.. and what is it with the Loons writing everything in a giant wall of text? Lrn2paragraph for fucks sake.

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Of course, you don't actually cite anyone who claims that market rates for salaries should be adjusted beyond the bare minimum wage. You simply make up some "caller" and then paraphrase what they've said, and proceed to argue against it.

That tactic is such bullshit, and you do it over and over.

Nobody is suggesting what you've claimed that person said, and I defy you to show me who has. But you won't, because you can't, and you'll just delete this.

Of course, the logical disconnect of your post is the level to which taxes should be set. By your logic, any taxes on business owners should have the effect you describe, but it does not. Do you know why that is?

At what level do taxes change from revenue producing instruments for effective government into business and employee robbing of income?

You do not say.. you never say.. because you really don't understand the economics of it.

What is your tax proposal? You don't say... because you don't really know. All you know is the same post you write over and over in various forms about how "taxing the wealthy" is a bad thing. You don't describe in what way taxes remove "opportunity" from anyone.

All you can do.. all you ever do.. is setup a straw man argument, one that nobody I know has, and argue against it in vague and paranoid ways.

It is exactly the same way you don't understand the health care debate, because you don't have the relevant information. All you know how to do is generalize and attack in broad themes.

Did you know that the vast majority of small businesses do not pay any business tax? Do you know why that is? I'm betting you don't, because you don't understand anything about running an incorporated business that employs people. If you did have the slightest clue, you'd know why what you've claimed is completely untrue.

so delete Mr. Strawman. I'll make hay with this in my usal way.