Gap between haves, have-nots growing

In Mein Kampf, Adoph Hitler wrote, “ … that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted …”

That has been an essential tenet of propaganda since man started communicating.

So, with that in mind let’s explore the idea that tax cuts for the rich are critical in creating jobs. The basic notion is that if you put more money in the hands of the wealthy (“job creators”) they will use it to hire more employees.

But why would they do that? Is having more money a reason to hire more people? Wouldn’t a prudent business person hire more people if they thought they could produce and sell more of their products? If they can’t do that, why would they hire more people? After all, the critical element in expanding a business is the belief that the business will recover the costs of expansion. Just having the money to expand doesn’t mean that the additional sales are there to utilize the expanded production capacity.

Now let’s look at the reality. Today we have the highest concentration of wealth at the top and the widest gap between the haves and the have-nots since the 1920s. If the notion of putting money in the hands of the rich produced jobs, we should be seeing the greatest creation of jobs in decades. So why aren’t we?

BOB WYNHAUSEN

Sandpoint