Letters: Debating fixes for economy's blahs

Regarding the letter "Why can't economists suggest solutions?" [Oct. 28], I'm not an economist, but even a basic understanding of economic concepts can teach us a lot about the policies that we should be making as a country, political inclinations aside.

We have learned that investments in infrastructure, transportation, housing, science and education all provide greater returns than spending on prisons, defense and corporations (in the form of tax cuts).

We should be using the lessons of the past to cut through present rhetoric. Rather than repeating the same mistakes, we should use what we already know to promote greater prosperity for all.

Ultimately, our policies mirror our morality: Should we, as a country, do something about a small minority owning the vast majority of all wealth? If the jobs bill does not pass, we will likely see prolonged stagnation -- stagnation that Republicans will use as an excuse to push their candidate, who would institute regressive, trickle-down economics. Should this happen, we will either have another bubble, or further proof of how trickle-down economics fails the majority of people.

Economics, like any discipline, is only as good as the values of the society from which it comes.

Roberta Winters, Richmond Hill
 

There are several very deceptive things wrong with recent articles about the rich getting richer. There are reasons why this has to happen.

The top tier has money to invest and does so; the bottom tier does not, so cannot grow as quickly. In addition, inflation makes the absolute difference even larger. The same inflation rate on a larger amount of money has a larger absolute impact.

There is no limit to what the upper tier earns; all the other tiers are limited in what they earn by the tier structure. If someone in a lower tier earns more than the tier limit, they move up. Except at the top, the highest earners in every tier are always leaving.

Meanwhile, the lowest tier has constantly been replenished by kids leaving the nest, immigrants, etc. It is no surprise these are at the bottom; starting at the top is not the usual way to success. Whether they stay there is the issue.

William A. Lau, Kings Park
 

When extremely wealthy people tell you that they are the job creators, you should be laughing out loud [" 'Job creator' claim a farce," Letters, Nov. 3]. You should be shunning them and their works. You should be telling your government you will not tolerate this silliness any longer.

The job creators are the 99 percent who buy the furniture, the food and the new coat. When the 99 percent is economically neutered, the economy dies in direct relation. There can only be jobs when there is a market for the goods and services those jobs provide.

We can continue down the path of the last 30 years and watch our nation become an impotent shell: almost all of its people eventually destitute, powerless and frail. Or we can change the way things are.

Common sense tells us that when human beings more equitably divide the wealth of a nation, all people benefit. When every citizen has a place of shelter, food, medical care and education, the builders, farmers, nurses and teachers have more jobs. And with those jobs they have the means to buy the stuff that creates more jobs.

You can follow the tea party, financed by the billionaire Koch brothers in their effort to eliminate the social safety net. You can cheer for millionaire politicians who have been paid to create three decades of economic policy that skims off the economic cream and delivers it to the 1 percent. You can watch "Jersey Shore" and not mind that Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino makes more in a year than you would make in nine lifetimes.

Or you can say that right and wrong still matter. You can dismiss the lobbyists and pundits when they spin their self-serving tales. You can depose the politicians whose only agenda is to make more money. You can declare that you are a member of the 99 percent, and you are a job creator, and you want your money and your country back.

William Binnie, Lake Grove
 

Yves R. Michel, head of the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Workforce Housing, presents evidence of Long Island job gains ["There are job gains here, too," Letters, Oct. 30]. Yet he omits that Canon USA's 1,000 current jobs in Lake Success and Leviton Manufacturing Co.'s 400 jobs in Little Neck were losses for Nassau and Queens, respectively. I see this as a net zero gain.

It's my understanding that these two companies remained committed to a Long Island location and were just shopping for the best deal.

Richard Weiss, Westhampton

Editor's note: The writer worked for Canon USA for 20 years.
 

In response to all those who rail about the "almost 50 percent who pay no taxes," let me set the record straight: The top 10 percent of Americans hold 83 percent of the country's wealth, according to a study by the University of California at Santa Cruz. But they pay only 71 percent of federal taxes. The bottom 80 percent hold only 7 percent of the country's wealth, according to the same study ["Time to go after the real tax evaders out there," Opinion, Oct. 10].

Of the nearly 50 percent of those who pay no federal taxes, half have incomes too low to pay taxes. Another 22 percent are seniors on Social Security, about 15 percent are low-income families who qualified for earned-income and child care credits, and the remaining percentage pay no income taxes for other reasons. That's according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. This group does pay payroll taxes, excise taxes on gasoline, sales, state income, transportation tolls, and perhaps pension, workers' compensation and property taxes.

However, also included in the 50 percent who paid no federal income taxes (2009-10) are multimillion dollar corporations such as General Electric, Citigroup, Bank of America, Boeing, Exxon Mobil, Valero and Chevron, according to a March 25 report on the Business Insider website. Others, such as Goldman Sachs, Conoco Phillips, AIG, Carnival and Amazon paid very little -- at a rate as low as 1.1 percent.

Remember, too, that our tax dollars subsidize these big oil companies, and bailed out Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and AIG.

Wealthy corporations and individuals must pay their fair share of taxes. Subsidies to big oil companies must be eliminated. It's time to create jobs for the 14 million unemployed Americans!

Lisa Oldendorp, Massapequa
 

Has it occurred to anyone that it is the lack of accountability that is driving people to take to the streets? ["Zuccotti Park: No vacancies," News, Nov. 7.]

I don't think anyone disagrees that there was massive fraud in the banking and financial institutions. I haven't seen any of the perpetrators held accountable. Yes, we've had some of them appear before Congress and do their spiel, but there were no indictments, and there still are none.

In fact many of the perpetrators are still there, still gambling away the future of this country. Most of them have even received handy bonuses for their crimes. Some are even in high government positions, pretending to protect us from the very same group of crooks they were part of who brought us to the precipice in 2008.

If the people in the streets appear disorganized or disoriented, it is perhaps because they have no one to turn to.

Ernst P.A. van Amson, Sayville