In President Obama's "jobs bill" (which, as of this writing, no Democrat has introduced into Congress yet), the word "tax" is found over 230 times. His plan, as it's always been, is to raise taxes on "the rich" to pay for more government spending.
It won't work. It never has.
Why? For many reasons, but I mention only one in this post. It won't work because the rich won't pay those taxes. They'll just shove the money into bonds or other tax exempt securities and not have pay any tax. Or, as likely and maybe even more desirable due to the ease of electronic transfers in a globalized economy, they'll just transfer the money to foreign countries, many of which are inviting them to do so in order to obtain the investment money to build their own economies. Folks, the rich aren't stupid; they didn't get rich by giving their money to the government, and they know it. And they also know that government spending is not the way to grow an economy. Indeed, if government spending could produce economic growth, the United States would have a booming economy with more jobs than even the illegal aliens could fill. The wealthiest people in America will be the ones least hurt by a tax increase; those who will suffer most are the lower and middle-class people who won't be able to find jobs because the investments aren't there, and they don't have an easy option of moving overseas to find employment. Some of us have been able to do that--but it wasn't my first choice. But small businesses like restaurants, shoes and clothing stores, computer shops--those entitities that create and provide most of the jobs in America--aren't easily able to transfer overseas and are most liable to be hit and hurt by Obama tax increases. Any growth in income for these businesses, which should be reinvested to provide more employment and greater growth, will be gobbled up in Obama taxes. So where's the incentive to work hard and provide more jobs, goods, and services?
There certainly needs to be some serious reform of the tax code, but the solution is, and it always will be, government needs to cut spending! If I'm personally spending more money than I'm taking in, then I need to readjust my budget and bring it into line with my income--not go out, put a gun to somebody's head, and steal their money. Only government can do that and get away with it.
If Obama is really serious about "stimulating" the American economy, then, instead of trying to raise taxes on the wealthy Americans, he will lower them and encourage them to invest their money, not in securities or overseas ventures, but into business and jobs for the American people.
Now whether Obama knows this or not, I don't know, but it's irrelevant. The Democratic party bases its entire economic theory on Marxist class warfare, i.e., they are the "defenders" of the working people, protecting them from the greedy "rich." It's great politics, but lousy economics. It's also hypocritical because I guarantee you Democratic campaign coffers are not filled by millions of $5 donations from poor people. But if political power comes by keeping people poor and dependent, then there are an awful, awful lot of politicians who are more than willing to play that game. And you can start at the very top of the current American political food chain.