I Give Up, I’m MAGA For Life
OK, so I am going to admit that I am now full on MAGA.
Let’s take a look at what the USA of the 1950s was really like…not culturally, but economically.
Taxes: A taxpayer filing singly would pay 91% on all income over $200,000. I am all for it. Index it to inflation if you want. That would put income over 2.2 million under the top rate. Sounds about right. Anyone spending over 2.2 million dollars a year is in need of psychological help. Any society that allows it is also in dire need of help.
Bank Regulation: Banks were not allowed to lend to consumers and also play with their money on the stock market. Such a simple idea. If you’re going to take money from citizens and hold it in safe keeping, you can’t play with that money and make bets on the market. Loans are OK, betting is not. Let’s go back to that, absolutely.
CEOs: In the 1950s, they made about 20x what their workers made. Totally reasonable. They’ve got an important job, a lot of risk, and they get paid a lot more. All fine and good. By 2000s, when the system began to fall apart, it rose as high as 300x a worker’s pay. I’m shocked, absolutely shocked, that such a discrepency in pay might lead to instability and fragility in a system. Let’s go back in time, and make the CEO pay normal again.
Education: An enlightened government of the 1940s led to the GI Bill which invested directly into the education of a generation. It, of course, paid off in spades. Education in exchange for national service…NOT service that requires killing anyone, that part could use an update…is an idea that should be brought back immediately. And if you have a Boomer parent or grandparent, do remind them of the government help that got their wealth train rolling. They might not like it though.
Modern day MAGAs are so blissfully clueless about what actually made a country great. It was investment in all of its citizens (and that “all” part could certainly use an update for 2023) and a firm thumb on the scales to make sure no person could hoard too much wealth for themselves. For their company, maybe. But not for individual consumption.
So bring all that good stuff back, and let’s Make America Great Again. Oh, and a capital gains tax of 25% would be nice too.