Seven Deadly Lies

Robert Reich highlights the seven biggest economic lies passed off as economic wisdom (via Mark Thoma):

1. Tax cuts for the rich trickle down to everyone else. Baloney. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both sliced taxes on the rich and what happened? Most Americans’ wages (measured by the real median wage) began flattening under Reagan and have dropped since George W. Bush. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke. 

 2. Higher taxes on the rich would hurt the economy and slow job growth. False.

My favorite part of number 2:

(Don’t believe small businesses would be hurt by a higher marginal tax; fewer than 2 percent of small business owners are in the highest tax bracket.)  

I want to kick the TV when I hear somebody say that the top marginal income tax rate can't increase because it will hurt small businesses.  I guess it depends on what you consider small, but most owners of businesses employing fewer than 20 workers aren't making $200,000 a year.  They shouldn't be impacted by increasing the top marginal rate.  And if they are doing that well, they can reinvest in the business, create new jobs, and lower their taxable income.  That would seem like a pretty good deal to me, but what do I know, I'm not a job creator, I'm just a leech working for them.