More Hillarinomics

I realize this sort of talk from Hillary is election-time populism and means nothing in practical terms, but the socialist overtones creep me out.

“We also have to reward work more,” Clinton told a small group of Ohio residents today. “and by that, I mean, I have people in New York working on Wall Street as investment managers, as hedge fund executives. Under the tax code, they can pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes on $50 million dollars, than a teacher, or a nurse, or a truck driver in Parma pays on $50,000. That’s very discouraging to people.”

I’m not an economist, but I’m relatively certain “we” don’t “reward” anyone for work, per se. Last I heard, folks negotiate the worth of a service or item in a competitive marketplace. (Though teachers typically work in a monopoly, but that’s another story.) You’re worth as much as someone is willing to pay you. There is no way to remedy this truth without destroying the economy and allowing the government to decide who is worth what. And, you know, I suspect being a slimeball hedge fund executive takes a certain level of skill and expertise, making it a pretty tough business to break into.

Moreover, I find Hillary’s contention that a hedge fund executive pays less in taxes than a nurse – even percentage-wise – remarkably dubious. A hedge fund hotshot, at the very least, is double taxed on his earning and pays a higher rate of income tax due to our progressive tax system.

But like I said, this is just election talk. I hope.