“FlatEarth” Friedman Should Know Better
In his Sunday NYTimes column, Thomas “FlatEarth” Friedman made a case for the obvious need to increase funding for and emphasis on education in the United States if we’re going to compete on a global basis in the near and far future.
He identifies the problem easily, but that’s no major insight as it’s pretty clear that an American generation raised on Wrestling and Wii is going to take a back seat to children from other cultures who are being taught that it’s a privilege to spend 14 hours a day working and studying diligently in order to improve their lot in life.
His policy prescription, tax breaks for teachers, ignores his own main theme over the past 6 years: the intertwining of supply chains and support systems of both goods and services. Perhaps because his view is overarching and global, he misses the one in his own backyard:
You can’t give a tax break to teachers without also giving one to the police who protect them, or the firefighters who rescue them, or the sanitation and health care workers who keep their external and internal environments relatively benign. Friedman should understand that it’s a national psychological reorientation that’s required, not a narrowly focused tax break, although I’m all for tax breaks for teachers, police, firefighters, and health care and sanitation workers, among other public servants, including members of the armed forces.
I’d suggest that, in order increase revenues earmarked for education, taxes should be raised on, oh, let’s say, every single attendee of The Golden Globe Awards (which was broadcast this past Sunday night), whose narcissistic frivolity and excess in a time of national crisis made it clear that they’re out of touch with the millions and millions of folks out there who are hurting financially and emotionally. While we’re at it, let’s extend that narcissistic surtax to professional athletes as well.
Actors, athletes, and other People magazine types can still provide us with some welcome diversion while living in 6,000 rather than 12,000 square foot houses.
And Mr. Friedman can heed his own exceptional insights. He just needs to zoom in a bit.
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Maybe the new book should be entitled “Short Cut Economics” – You’ve touched on a much larger issue – any stimulus plan is going to overlook some needy group – (though defining CEO’s of large banks as “needy” is stretching it!)
If we provide economic releif to teachers, what about firema? If I get a tax cut for sending my kid to college, do you get a tax break because your kid decides to stay home and runf the family business?
If the answer is going to be yes to everyone, then we need more revenue. Friedman has to realize that our tax system has gotten less progressive – and that the rich need to pay more, to provide economic incentive to those providing basic values.
Remember when Warren Buffet blasted the system that taxed him at 17.7%, while his secretary paid 30%?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece