Harnessing Power
It is a messy democratic process we have. Political
parties want to be in power. Party members can derive strength and power by
unifying behind common messages and themes in hopes of attracting like-minded
followers. Party leaders test different messages seeing which ones resonate with
the most voters to gain their votes and help their candidates get elected. Office holders have authority which translates into power.
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The Message
A common message reiterated many times throughout the Great
Recession by the Republican Party in their
pursuit of power has been the notion that raising taxes on the rich would kill job creation. For them, it is an unshakable belief that people with money invest in businesses to make more money. Jobs are the
fortunate byproduct of the process. Following this reasoning further, it is the
rich who are responsible for creating jobs and we as voters should be grateful.
This message rests on the idea that if the rich build the business, the
consumer will come.
Real Job Creators
However, in an article with Bloomberg News, Nick Hanauer, a successful entrepreneur,
venture capitalist and author, disagrees. He argues this Republican message has the investment process backwards. According
to Hanauer, businesses are started and new workers hired when consumer demand is present. For Hanauer, raising
taxes on the rich makes much more sense. He sees it is as a way of rewarding the
true job creators, those middle-class consumers who create demand first out of which
investment opportunities for the wealthy emerge to make more money.
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