Did you buy groceries this week? Go out to eat somewhere? Did you buy new clothes? Maybe even a new car or truck? Did you take a vacation, maybe a trip to the beach or the mountains or somewhere else? Did you fill up your car or truck with gas? Did you pay your utility bills? Rent? House payment? Did you pay taxes?
If the answer to any of those questions is "yes", then congratulations! You're a JOB CREATOR!
Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Big 5 sporting goods store in the mall. I bought a pair of running shoes and she got some wrist and ankle weights. Total price: $30. There were 3 employees in the store. That means, roughly, we paid for one hour's wages for those 3 employees. WE SAVED 3 JOBS!
Last week, we went to the grocery store and spent about $100 on groceries. There were about 10 employees in the store. That means we paid the hourly wages of all those employees, give or take. WE SAVED 10 MORE JOBS!
We pay income tax on all the money we make, that tax revenue is used to help pay the salaries of hundreds of thousands of government employees at the state and local level. MORE JOBS CREATED OR SAVED!
With all this talk about looking out for the "job creators", let's not forget who really creates jobs in this country - the middle-class.
You ever buy a pair of Levi's? Did you know that denim jeans were originally created as work pants for men who had rough jobs that cotton slacks just couldn't hold up to? Levi Strauss & Co. rose to prominence during the gold rush in the 1800's, because their jeans were exceptionally durable and comfortable and held up to all kinds of abuse. That entire company only exists because of the working class. If the only people who bought clothes were the wealthy elite, blue jeans would never have been invented.
Here's another industry that exists solely because of the working class - work boots. The next Wall Street banker you see with a pair of Timberlands on will be the first. Those companies only exist because of working-class men and women who buy their products. Those jobs are literally due entirely to the support of middle-class Americans.
You know why every fast food restaurant has a 99-cents menu? Here's a hint: It's not because they want to cater to millionaires. McDonald's isn't the huge corporation it is today because of rich people, it's because millions of average Americans eat there every day. When was the last time you saw a fast food menu with a "Job Creators only" section? You know "All items in this section are $1,000 and up"? There's a reason why that doesn't exist - because businesses don't depend on rich people to stay afloat, they depend on the vast consumer base that is the working class. The 99-cent menu exists so that, no matter how little you have, you can still afford to spend your money at that restaurant.
Every time you spend money in the retail sector, every time you pay your bills, every time you pay your taxes, you're helping to create jobs. You're helping to save jobs. You're a job creator! How does it feel? Empowering? It should, you're officially the most important people in the country according to the Republican party.
While they're busy running around talking about "protecting the job creators", maybe they need a reminder of who those "job creators" really are?
You know what McDonald's would be without millions of middle-class Americans buying their products every day? Bankrupt.
You know what your local grocery store or big-box retailer would be without your business? Broke.
You know where your city, county, state and federal governments would be without your tax dollars? Busted.
You know where all those "job creator" defending politicians would be without your votes? Looking for someone to create a job for them...
While we're talking about protecting those poor, delicate and endangered "job creators" from the cruel oppression of a slightly higher tax rate, let's not forget that without our money, those "job creators" would have no businesses to create jobs for. Herman Cain can talk down to the OWS protesters all day long, but he'd damn sure let Godfather's deliver some pizza to them, wouldn't he?
That's the hypocrisy of the right when it comes to protecting the wealthy elite at the expense of the rest of the country. You can give big businesses all the tax breaks you want, but without customers there's no money to even worry about taxing. The Republicans are so busy making sure nobody touches the wealth of the wealthy that they don't even care that these people wouldn't be wealthy in the first place if the working class didn't buy their products and services. The less money there is among the working class, the less money there is to spend and send up to the "job creators". Now, that might not matter when they already have all the money in the first place, but they don't have it all just yet, they still need a lot more of our money before they control every penny in the economy. People can't spend what they don't have. Eventually, there won't be enough wealth at the bottom to support the wealthy at the top and that's when the whole house of cards will collapse. We've seen it in other banana republics like Colombia and Argentina, a caste system is doomed to fail. Without a robust middle-class to drive the economy, it becomes a collection of a few wealthy elites pushing their money around and building bigger and stronger walls to keep the oppressed and impoverished working class from storming their castles and taking what they want. If that's the Republican's vision for America, then so be it.
In the meantime, though, I'm going to pat myself on the back for helping create so many jobs this weekend. I'll be waiting for my promised tax relief now...
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