Right Wing Mythology—Job Creators Edition

There are two distinct frameworks that a person can employ to understand the world and they rarely overlap: Mythos and Logos. Mythos uses a frame of reference that is based on anecdotes, story-telling, and shared communal belief. Logos uses a frame of reference that employs empirical evidence, critical thinking and impartiality. From these Greek words we derive the English “myth” and “logic.”

Modern American conservatives appear to have lost their intellectual moorings, especially as they have allowed themselves to be dragged to the irrational right wing fringe by the Tea Party, and others. They have become far more animated by their own invented mythology than facts or evidence. The immediately dismiss any evidence that is contrary to their mythology as false or manipulated. This explains the constant carping about the “Main Stream Media” being controlled by [insert your favorite liberal villain here], while they rely on news sources like Fox, World Net Daily, Brietbart, Washington Times, Limbaugh and countless other right wing outlets. They are as information-myopic as any liberal about which they bitterly complain.

This is one important reason that it is nearly impossible to have a rational, civil, and respectful exchange of ideas with them. Any person who dares challenges their mythical narratives is, by definition, a defective human being hell-bent on destroying America. As I noted in a previous post, Report From the Fever Swamp, their default response to any challenge is insult and vulgarity, while ignoring whatever merits the challenge may have. They have become masters of changing the subject.

So with this post, I begin a series on right-wing mythology. First Edition: Job Creators.

The right wing loves to carp incessantly about the Job Creators and how if the Government would just get off their backs, get out of their way, etc., the Job Creators could get on with the work of, you know, creating jobs.

There! The only thing standing between the return of prosperity and the rousing chorus of Happy Days Are Here Again are the evil liberals and their primary tool for Destroying America—the Big Government.

There are two basic problems with this myth: first of all, it is only a thin proxy for the real argument: keep taxes low on the already rich, and secondly, it is not supported by either entry-level economics or any objective evidence.

This mythical narrative simply ignores demand. If the job creators are “allowed” to prosper by virtue of low taxes and deregulation then they will be able to offer a richer variety of goods and services (increase the supply, better known as “Supply Side Economics”) which will, in turn create economic growth and create the jobs. The dark side of the argument of course, is that the rich do not get their low taxes and deregulation, then they simply “go on strike” and simply not create the jobs or the growth that everyone wants. The Speaker of the House actually made this argument.

In the right wing mythical world, all business investment decisions are made by rich guys sitting around and deciding how much of a snit they are in about their marginal tax rates. Of course, this is preposterous. If there is sufficient demand for a product or service, someone will meet that demand with whatever investment is required. If the demand cannot be met profitably, then supply will not be created.

High taxes or regulations do not kill job creation. It is lack of demand.

If high taxes kill jobs, and low taxes create jobs, then someone must explain Alabama. Alabama has the third lowest all-in tax rate in the nation, yet it is among the most impoverished. California, on the other hand, has very high all-in tax rates yet is among the most prosperous in the nation.

The argument can be extended to every Red State, with the exception of Texas. As I noted in a prior post, Red states receive more in Federal benefits than the taxes they pay. Of the 18 states that pay more in Federal taxes than the benefits they receive, 17 are Blue.

The Red state legislatures are in the firm control of the Republican party. Yet they lag far behind the Blue states in any measure of economic prosperity. If the right wing mythos were based in fact, why is California not being subsidized by Alabama instead of the other way around?

Anyone trying to have a rational conversation with a right wing extremist should never underestimate the power of myth. Also, in the words of an early mentor—you should never try to teach a pig to sing. You will just frustrate yourself and annoy the pig.