GOP tax plan: Protect the rich

Opinion: December 4, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

San Jose Mercury News: The fat cats came out on top again Tuesday.

Republicans in Congress reaffirmed their intent to protect tax cuts for the rich — including the folks who orchestrated the collapse of our financial system — at the same time they refused to extend unemployment benefits for the desperate job seekers who are victims of that collapse.

This is not only morally bankrupt, but it’s also bad economics.

Republicans in the Senate who oppose extending unemployment benefits claim to be worried about deficit spending. That’s a hoot. The tax cuts for the wealthy will add $700 billion to the federal deficit, compared to the $5 billion a month extending benefits would cost.

Not only that, but the Department of Labor says $5 billion paid to the unemployed boosts the nation’s GDP by twice that amount — $10 billion. That’s because nearly all the money is spent quickly as the jobless buy food and clothing and keep their homes out of foreclosure. They might have bought a few Christmas presents this month, but that’s less likely now. Happy holidays, retailers.

Trickle-down theory

It’s amazing that anyone still buys the Republican trickle-down theory of economics. There is no evidence at any time, from the Reagan administration on, that tax policies to make the rich richer help anybody but the rich.