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Reader comments
barlowNov 11, 2003 at 5:45PM
That's pretty silly. How about this - we don't tax corporations at all. The reason is obvious - it really isn't theoretically possible to tax companies anyway; they just pass this on as a cost of doing business to consumers. Only people can be taxed, in essence, anyway. So don't have corporate taxes, and goods can be cheaper because the costs of compliance completely evaporate. Further, corporate decision making can take out of the equation tax implications of behaviors and they can do what's best for the business or for its employees and neither has to compete with Unc. Sam for strategy considerations.
majickNov 11, 2003 at 6:56PM
Goods would not become cheaper -- instead, profit margins would become fatter. There is no incentive for a corporation to pass a reduction (or elimination) of its tax burden to its customers. Trickle-down economics were pretty much debunked the last few times they came around.
barlowNov 11, 2003 at 7:44PM
Majick - all it takes is another company to undercut their price on the same product; that's competition, and it pretty much works every time it "comes around".
Plus, even if profit margins become fatter, that helps stock prices which help mom and pop. So trickle-down always works; it only gets a bad rap in some circles - the same circles who get fixated on executive compensation and don't see the bigger picture.
ScottNov 12, 2003 at 11:24AM
"all it takes is another company to undercut their price on the same product"
But what about monopolies or price fixing (cds)?
MacDaraNov 14, 2003 at 6:23AM
Trickle-down economics is based in the premise that people involved in big business are inherently fair, when of course that's far from the truth. Altruism is anathema to commerce. Sure it works in theory, but when you add humans to the equation it fails in practice. Of course, I'm no economist...
RobertNov 15, 2003 at 9:57PM
that helps stock prices which help mom and pop.
Ha! That's very funny. Higher wages and cheaper products help more "moms and pops" than fat profits and insane executive payments.
Becker Maki Dec 10, 2003 at 11:47PM
The world is a beautiful book for those who can read it.
Siegel Zoe Dec 21, 2003 at 2:03AM
When prosperity comes, do not use all of it.
Niblock Jasper Jan 10, 2004 at 3:27AM
Churches are hospitals for sinners, rather than hotels for saints.
This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.