December 14

An interesting concept on TV just pierced my concentration: “They say we can’t raise taxes on the job creators. OK, so where are the jobs?” I think it was part of a commercial. When you stop and think about it, it’s a pretty fair question. Businesses don’t need employees to the extent they used to. A fairer concept might be, “If we raise taxes on the rich, they won’t buy as many machines and as much technology.” Of course the counterpoint is that up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, variable by year and legislation, that’s tax deductible anyway.   More equipment purchased with tax deductible dollars empties the coffers of tax dollars while filling their pockets with profits from their increased efficiency.  Their investments won’t affect their tax burden either way.  Their taxable income will be the same.

Perhaps the number of small business owners who might be affected are not so great after all. We can not continue to reward people for failing to better themselves, nor can we continue to award the investor class – both at the expense of the working middle class. This entire issue really does warrant concentrated, clear-headed thought and perhaps many of will change our points of view one way or the other. The reality may be that taxing the investor class collects money to support people at the bottom end of the spectrum who used to do the jobs that have been replaced by machines and technology. They will be supporting exactly the same number of people. It’s just that those people used to go to work every day, not they don’t.

It is interesting to note that I could use help in a couple of areas right now, with an end of year rush, a large web project in my web design company and audits in the accounting company.  Everyone capable of doing the work is flat out. Those who are available lack the required skills. It’s also interesting to note that while my education includes half of a Master’s at an Ivy League school, I am self-taught in every single thing I currently do to make money. I mean that I have not taken even one formal course to learn how to do any of the things I do to make money.  I probably have the equivalent of several PhDs worth of knowledge thanks to the nearly 1,000 business books that I’ve read in my adult life.

I played with a Tandy when they first came out.  I learned accounting by backward engineering the work of a CPA.  Then I read books, explored, and practiced, until I became one of the best forensic accounts around. I learned about websites in 1991 and designed my first site using PageMaker.  I examined the source code, was totally fascinated, and bought a book on html.  Tonight I downloaded eight books on various aspects of web design.  It would have been more cost efficient to take courses but there are no courses in this part of CT.  When I proposed to the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce that we use email for communication one very prominent member of the community and local business owner loudly proclaimed me to be foolish and email a fad.

Forgive me if I am not sympathetic to whining about not having a job because you don’t have the required education.  If the investor class can’t behave ethically, the answer, clearly, is to tax away ill-gotten gains.  The new economy requires that everyone give more and try harder.  It’s the middle class’ turn and both ends need to clean up their acts.