“Why do so many "progressives" believe that higher marginal tax rates on incomes will not dampen workers' efforts to earn income, but that higher marginal tax ("tariff") rates on imports will dampen importers' efforts to supply imports?
Why do so many "progressives" who preen publicly about their magnanimity toward the poor want to prevent foreign workers -- most of whom are far poorer than is any American -- from bettering their lots by competing freely against relatively rich American workers?
In the same vein, why do so many "progressives" -- nearly all of whom seem to regard differences in income earnings across workers to be an Olympian injustice -- support protectionist policies that artificially enhance the incomes earned by relatively rich American workers by artificially reducing the incomes earned by much-poorer foreign workers? Why is this greater income inequality of no concern to "progressives"?
Why are "progressives" madly obsessed with inequality of incomes but not with inequality of work effort, risk taking, prudence, courage, honesty, integrity, ambition and dedication? Monetary incomes, after all, are largely a result of the application of these qualities: Those who apply more of these qualities to their lives and careers generally earn higher incomes than are earned by those who apply fewer of these qualities to their lives and careers.”
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/boudreaux/s_773501.html
Why are so many Boudreaux's always on the side of capital, never labor?
ReplyDeleteWhy do so many Bourdreaux's that are paid shills for the Koch Brothers forget to mention that in their writings?
"Why do so many "progressives" who preen publicly about their magnanimity toward the poor want to prevent foreign workers -- most of whom are far poorer than is any American -- from bettering their lots by competing freely against relatively rich American workers?"
ReplyDeleteI'll take that deal. That of course means the USA will no longer subsidize the Chinese, or protect the multinationals in other brutal dictatorships. Let's see how attractive that business climate is once they are left to the tender mercies of the local mafia and local bureaucrats.
Meanwhile, we can't endorse the products of slave labor, can we? A lot of it is. Oh, it's too difficult to sort out? Let it all in.
Also, we'll have to get rid of a lot of our infrastructure too--paved roads take maintenance so we better go back to dirt roads. Ditto the clean water and safe food too. We're going back to fish heads and rice anyways, and we couldn't do anything about the lead and strontium in it anyways.
Let's give up on national security too, since we are hollowing out the manufacturing base. If we get attacked I'm sure we'll be able to buy weapons from somewhere on credit.
Unless of course Don Boudreaux was being rhetorical to show how stupid that question is.