In the newly released “Obama: The Vox Conversation, OR See If You Can Digest These Charts in Four Seconds or Less,” we see a bear on the loose clawing at wealth inequality and wearing a sharp outfit for the depressingly monochrome set.
Suitably, he and interviewer Ezra Klein discuss the issue of redistribution in absolute black and white terms, with the president saying that Robin Hood economics have pretty much always been a good idea. (“I don’t think that’s entirely new,” he remarked of Klein’s premise that redistribution is “a positive good in and of itself” and may be necessary to make laborers feel like they have skin in the game.)
Obama goes on to observe that the tax code isn’t nearly as progressive and individual rates at the top aren’t nearly as high as they were decades ago (fact). He’s clearly empowered to toy with the tax structure to offset what he sees as other changes (negative ones) to the economy over time, particularly at the corporate level:
Each instance of stylized text above represents a distinct problem Obama sees in the modern economy: the shrinking influence and strength of unions, the perception that corporate executives have become less concerned about their employees’ and community’s welfare, and market incentives that favor greed. (Who’s president, again?)
In lieu of these “pre-tax” protections on the middle class, the president wants to tweak the tax structure to put more money in the pockets of the working class and pay for it with taxes on the boss class, presumably. For instance, Obama’s budget calls for a tax credit for married couples funded in-part by an increase in the tax on capital gains (income from stock, real estate, etc.).
“[T]hat’s smart policy, and there’s no evidence that would hurt the incentives of folks at Google or Microsoft or Uber not to invent what they invent or not to provide services they provide,” the president told Klein. “It just means that instead of $20 billion, maybe they’ve got 18, right? But it does mean that Mom can go to work without worrying that her kid’s not in a safe place.”
Republicans and right-of-center thinkers have rebuffed the president’s plan, with Harvard economist, superb textbook writer and former George W. Bush adviser Greg Mankiw calling it “not serious,” and the Tax Foundation pointing out the backfire effect it could have on the economy’s growth.
