If your customers are broke you can't make sales

[Ricter]

Nor should one bother to start a new business (unless you have something new--good luck). Nice to see this message spreading.

Real Business Leaders Want to Save Capitalism
Posted: 06/19/2014 8:56 am EDT Updated: 2 hours ago

"A few weeks ago I was visited in my office by the chairman of one of the country's biggest high-tech firms who wanted to talk about the causes and consequences of widening inequality and the shrinking middle class, and what to do about it.

"I asked him why he was concerned. "Because the American middle class is the core of our customer base," he said. "If they can't afford our products in the years ahead, we're in deep trouble."

"I'm hearing the same refrain from a growing number of business leaders.

"They see an economic recovery that's bypassing most Americans. Median hourly and weekly pay dropped over the past year, adjusted for inflation.

"Since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, median real household income has fallen 4.4 percent, according to ananalysis by Sentier Research.

"These business leaders know the U.S. economy can't get out of first gear as long as wages are declining. And their own businesses can't succeed over the long term without a buoyant and growing middle class.

"They also recognize a second danger.

"Job frustrations are fueling a backlash against trade and immigration."

More>>

 

[Tsing Tao]

What a horribly narrow-minded, myopic article that ignores a massive part of what is driving lower income drop in purchasing power: suppression of interest rates, punishing savers, and the driving of inflationary food and energy pressures upon the rapidly shrinking middle class.

But yeah, it's all about raising taxes on the rich and increasing minimum wage. Holy shit, that's rich.

 

[Trader666]

What a horribly narrow-minded, myopic article

You were expecting better from rectum?

 

[Ricter]

What a horribly narrow-minded, myopic article that ignores a massive part of what is driving lower income drop in purchasing power: suppression of interest rates, punishing savers, and the driving of inflationary food and energy pressures upon the rapidly shrinking middle class.

But yeah, it's all about raising taxes on the rich and increasing minimum wage. Holy shit, that's rich.

You must agree though that (excessive) inequality is bad for business... ?

 

[Ricter]

But getting back to real business leaders... (from the article)

"Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, warned recently on "CBS This Morning" that income inequality is "destablilizing" the nation and is "responsible for the divisions in the country." He went on to say that "too much of the GDP over the last generation has gone to too few of the people."

"Blankfein should know. He pulled in $23 million last year in salary and bonus, a 9.5 percent raise over the year before and his best payday since the Wall Street meltdown. This doesn't make his point any less valid.

"Several of business leaders are suggesting raising the minimum wage and increasing taxes on the wealthy.

"Bill Gross, Chairman of Pimco, the largest bond-trading firm in the world, said this week that America needs policies that bring labor and capital back into balance, including a higher minimum wage and higher taxes on the rich.

"Gross has noted that developed economies function best when income inequality is minimal.

"Several months ago Gross urged his wealthy investors, who benefit the most from a capital-gains tax rate substantially lower than the tax on ordinary income, to support higher taxes on capital gains. "The era of taxing 'capital' at lower rates than 'labor' should now end," he stated.

"Similar proposals have come from billionaires Warren Buffettand Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of Duquesne Capital Management and one of the top performing hedge fund managers of the past three decades. Buffett has suggested the wealthy pay a minimum tax of 30 percent of their incomes.

"The response from the denizens of the right has been predictable: If these gentlemen want to pay more taxes, there's nothing stopping them.

"Which misses the point. "

Continues>>

 

[Tsing Tao]

You must agree though that (excessive) inequality is bad for business... ?

I'll go a step further than that and say I would agree that excessive inequality is bad for the economy. But that article is hilariously inept at defining what is driving it. All it does is provide another Buffet article wherein rich folk complain that they pay lower taxes than their secretary.

 

[fhl]

I would never agree that inequality is bad for business.

 

[Tsing Tao]

I would never agree that inequality is bad for business.

Why not?

 

[Ricter]

I'll go a step further than that and say I would agree that excessive inequality is bad for the economy. But that article is hilariously inept at defining what is driving it. All it does is provide another Buffet article wherein rich folk complain that they pay lower taxes than their secretary.

Buffet is hardly the only business leader advocating it. And we have a history (during the last big time of inequality) of business leaders advocating such, too.

Anyway, we can we can disagree on the causes of our inequality, or at least the solutions.

 

[Tsing Tao]

Buffet is hardly the only business leader advocating it. And we have a history (during the last big time of inequality) of business leaders advocating such, too.

Anyway, we can we can disagree on the causes of our inequality, or at least the solutions.

I know, that article calls on other folks to say the same thing Buffet did, but it doesn't make it any more right. These are the guys that don't want to identify the real reasons why they are making all the $$ and want people to focus on stupid crap like taxing the rich - when they're all sheltered from it regardless.