Soak the Rich, Week 6

After six weeks testing Sherrod Brown’s trademark fiscal policy – don’t cut spending, soak The Rich! – we’ve punished a dozen dirty, profitable American employers. Assuming zero negative outcomes, Sherrod’s strategy is starting to have a worthwhile impact on this year’s $1.62 trillion U.S. budget deficit.

Starting at the top of the S&P 500 and working through the index by market capitalization, we’ve soaked 12 of the wealthiest corporations in the world. Though sophists like Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama aren’t specific about their assuredly non-socialist methodology, we’ve taken a leap to doubled corporate income taxes and fully "reclaimed" CEO pay.

If these extreme measures (view Excel summary) won’t work, there’s a tiny chance Sherrod Brown is either ignorant or dishonest to claim the budget could be balanced by making The Rich pay their fair share!

By dramatically increasing taxes on twelve of America’s most successful corporations, we could reduce the 2011 U.S. budget deficit from $1,620,000,000,000 to $1,538,553,037,880. That’s a 5.028% slice of a single year’s deficit pie. Even if soaking a few hundred more companies could cover the remaining 94.972% of the 2011 deficit, would it be worth it?

Of course it would! As any Progressive will tell you, raising taxes on The Rich has no negative effects. Among the things that won’t happen if Sherrod Brown taxes his way to the chart above:

• None of the corporations’ 3,952,970 employees will lose their jobs.
• None of the funds or individuals holding the corporations’ 54,944,800,000 shares of stock will be ruined… unless they deserve it!
• None of the products or services – business & consumer lending, the thousands of items available at Wal-Mart, prescription drugs, medical devices, computer software, cell phone service, broadband access, Band-Aids, baby soap, energy, transportation, iPods, laptops, servers, networking equipment, toothpaste, diapers, detergent, etc. – sold by these companies will get more expensive.
• None of the world’s entrepreneurs or executives will stop investing in American businesses.

It’s a good thing raising taxes is an all-around win, because Sherrod Brown is our only hope and taxing The Rich is his only idea.

Wait, I nearly forgot – Sherrod Brown would be happy to cut defense spending! Because that isn’t one of the few things the U.S. Congress is actually supposed to spend money on.

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Cross-posted from that hero.