From: Checkered Daemon <cdaemon@goblin.punk.net>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 12:12:46 +0800
To: bdolan@use.usit.net (Brad Dolan)
Subject: Re: RANT re: National Socio-Economic Security Need for Encryption
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960813181223.17545A-100000@use.usit.net>
Message-ID: <199608140124.SAA14313@goblin.punk.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Brad Dolan asks:
 
> ... and while I'm ranting...
> 
> Can somebody explain why:
> 
> 1. Good jobs of the future are knowledge jobs which require little 
> capital investment.
 
a)  Knowledge jobs require tremendous capital investment, as in degrees,
training, continual updating of skills, etc.  If the knowledge  worker
cannot recoup these investment costs via a higher salary, she will not
invest in the training.

b)  Knowlegde jobs require computers, automation equipment, etc. for the
knowledge to be applied to in order to create wealth.  These also require
capital investment.

c)  As rote manufacturing jobs are replaced by "quasi-intelligent" machinery,
human job focus switches to designing, caring for, and replacing those machines.
Example:  The ATM replaces the bank teller, requiring new jobs in ATM design,
manufacturing, repair, and the control of the computer network in the back-
ground.

Good jobs of the future may be knowledge jobs, but they require tremendous
capital investment, both by employee and employer.
 
> 2. We need a capital gains tax cut to encourage capital investment to 
> stimulate the growth of good jobs of the future.
 
In theory, this results in less spending and more saving.  More saving 
results in more investment capital (instead of spending on consumption),
lowering borrowing costs and resulting in business expansion, stimulating
both hiring and salaries to grow (at least until the Federal Reserve gets
into the act).

The second argument is that corporate earnings are actually taxed twice,
once at the  corporate level, and again when they are distributed to
share-holders as either dividends or as capital gains.

In actual practice, well, your mileage may vary.  For further info, see
any Macro Economics 101  textbook.

-- 
Checkered Daemon                              cdaemon@goblin.punk.net

Delirium:  There must be a word for it ... the thing that lets you know that
           TIME is happening.  IS there a word?
Sandman:   CHANGE.
Delirium:  Oh.  I was AFRAID of that.