More Taxes, Fewer Jobs - Lawmakers Weigh a Wall Street Tax - WSJ.com

Lawmakers Weigh a Wall Street Tax - WSJ.com:

"Isn't this the same old story - in just a slightly different version?

In other words, the US continues to work to make America a 'less-favorable' and 'less-attractive' place to do business, to maintain a business, to start a business - and, most importantly, to hire people!

Of course the correlation between a highly rewarding (read: low tax, low regulatory environment, low union threat, low mandatory benefit levels, etc.) environment and jobs seems to be totally unseen or ignored by the current administration and congress - as well as large parts of the population and the press.

Thus, while government spending soars, unionized government workers continue to receive outsize pay increases, all the government can do is blame banks for not lending to small businesses.

But, it's sort of like the housing credit bubble. The government is raising taxes and costs to small businesses in such a manner that it is unlikely the money will ever be able to be paid back. Thus, it is ridiculous not only for businesses to borrow (say to expand and add jobs) but for banks to lend to businesses that (as discussed in these responses before and at http://economy-solutions.blogspot.com/) will be seeing higher interest rates (and possibly obscenely higher interest rates) come along fairly soon.

As it is, with 20% unemployment (as said on Bloomberg Friday night and as evident in the government's own U-6 report, take the government's unemployment and other numbers and just 'double' them), the government still feels it necessary to print money to fund its deficit and to use some of this quantitative easing to subsidize mortgage rates, etc. So, where is all this borrowed money going to keep coming from?

How can we have 1% retail sales growth with 20% unemployment and private sector workers worried about salary cuts, let alone job cuts?

Somehow the math doesn't work; but, sadly the idea of government taking more money out of the economy seems like a train that can't slow down. But, like every out-of-control train, eventually something untoward usually happens. As if 20% unemployment wasn't untoward enough!"