No! It's Not the Corporate Tax Rate

The biggest problem with continuing to buy into the left/right political paradigm is that we the people allow the two political parties to determine the public discourse rather than we the people speaking truth to power. I am amazed at how day after day so many of us believe the hype that the reason many big American  businesses are not hiring in America is because the corporate tax rate is too high. This, even though in recent months we have seen instances of  of mega corporations making record profits and paying little, if any, taxes.

Let me break this down . Yeah, the high corporate tax rate argument may have some merit, but it's not the primary reason as to why many American corporations are not hiring in America. Taxes my foot! The bottom line is that they don't want to pay YOU--period!  Why? Because YOU Americans will not accept less than $7.25 (minimum wage) for your labor, and you have the nerve to want $7.25 for every hour you work. Are you crazy!? They can go overseas and pay somebody $7.25 for a whole 12 hour day.

(Now you and I both know that even in the most rural areas of this country you could barely take care of a goldfish for $7.25 an hour. If you are living some place like New York City, you couldn't afford a good corrugated cardboard box under the Brooklyn Bridge for that money, but I digress.)

Not only do you want at least $7.25 an hour, you want  to share  in a portion of the wealth that your labor generates for the company. Most of you want your portion in the form of of healthcare benefits. You also want a safe work environment, protective gear, a 35-40 work week max, and vacation time. On top of that you want these companies to spend money to safely dispose of any toxic waste they produce when it would be much cheaper for them to just dump industrial waste in your water supply, local landfills, or some  wooded area or vacant lot in the community you live in. HELLO! Do you think they have all of these nagging costs and considerations in so many of these places overseas? Please.

I am always amazed at how many people will call C-Span's Washington Journal demanding that the U.S.lift environmental regulations, and Americans accept lower wages to lure jobs back America from places like China and India. I always wonder who these callers really are. Are they really willing to work in an environment for a wage commensurate to that of many Chinese, Indian, and Mexican workers? Really? Are they watching PBS and reading alternative news sources that more  and more often are reporting about  Chinese citizens protesting the dumping of toxic waste and debris in their villages? Are these callers really willing to live under such conditions?  Please.

However, I do think such calls are very telling in that they reveal a profound truth. A  high corporate tax rate is not the primary reason many American corporations don't hire Americans. The real reason is you want a living wage, safe drinking water, and healthcare. You want to be treated like a human being. Unfortunately for you, that just costs too damned much.