Tax breaks are not creating jobs here

Jack Corrick, Boulder City

Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Regarding Richard McCord’s Tuesday letter to the editor, headlined “Taxing the rich is counterproductive”:

In his letter, he quotes published tax rates. But at what rate do those who are the most wealthy in the country actually end up paying — after their on-retainer tax lawyer gets them all their deductions, exclusions and exemptions?

So how does General Electric, for example, pay no or minimal taxes, benefiting its executives and shareholders? Democrat or not, Warren Buffett and the people on his staff know how to work the system. The most wealthy conservatives do the same, in spades. This is why conservative lawmakers howl for lower tax rates.

Democrats and many independents do not have animosity toward the rich. We have just come to realize that the current tax breaks do little toward investment in the United States.

Lately, those who are among the most wealthy Americans have invested overseas or in offshore bank accounts. How many jobs have the Fortune 500 companies created here, compared with what they have created overseas in the past dozen years?

We don’t see investment here, just closed factories and failing infrastructure. Yes, some jobs have been created — mostly minimum-wage service industry ones.

Conservatives need to take a hard look at what is happening in the real world to the United States and our economy — changes brought on principally by the wealthy, whom they cherish the most.