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    Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs?
    Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs?
    Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs?
    Ebook67 pages1 hour

    Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs?

    By Leon Johnson

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    About this ebook

    “This is not just a moral precept; it is an economic fact. . . . It’s everyone’s problem because poverty is a sinkhole down which the entire economy is sliding. The only way we can plug the hole is for everyone to earn a living wage. There is no other way.”

    Opponents of corporate taxes often defend their position by saying the government should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In other words, overtaxing businesses weakens the entire economy.

    Author Leon Johnson shows why this is a flawed argument, and why the real solution to improving stagnant economic growth lies in raising the minimum wage to a living standard. Along the way, we come to understand that the country’s true job creators are consumers. The gears that turn the economic engine are consumers empowered with discretionary money to spend.

    The path to a vibrant, flourishing economy, increased freedom and security for all people, and a healthy, thriving environment starts with a living wage—one that represents a realistic ability to live and contribute in a meaningful way while being fairly compensated for one’s labor and talent.

    Who’s the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs? explores what happens when this approach is incorporated into our economic system: everyone benefits, everyone prospers, and the positive benefits ripple outward, leading to a reduction in welfare and poverty, an increase in educated, skilled employees, less discrimination and environmental impact, and reduced corruption at the corporate and governmental levels.

    This is a cause we can all support, no matter our political views, because the potential benefits are too big to ignore.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScrivener Books
    Release dateDec 9, 2017
    ISBN9781370204809
    Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs?

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      Book preview

      Who's the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs? - Leon Johnson

      wtg

      Who’s the Goose that

      Lays the Golden Eggs?

      An Essay on Political Economy

      by

      Leon Johnson

      James Carville coined the phrase It’s the economy, stupid! during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign against George H. W. Bush in order to emphasize the vital role a healthy economy plays in the lives of every citizen.

      Copyright © 2017 by Leon Johnson. First Edition. All rights reserved. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the publisher. For information or permission, write to: 3300 S. 3200 W., West Valley City, Utah 84119 or email [email protected].

      Editorial work and production management by Eschler Editing. Cover design by Jason Robinson. Interior print design and layout Ben Welch. eBook design and layout by Eugene Woodbury. Publishing services provided by ScrivenerBooks.com.

      Acknowledgments

      My deepest gratitude to all my family and friends who supported me in the writing of this book. It truly takes a village to create a book. Thanks to the team at Eschler Editing, including Heidi Brockbank, Anna Allen, and Michele Preisendorf for their dedication, as well as Jason Robinson of Atlas Graphics for making my cover suggestions a reality, and Ben Welch for his excellent work on the book design.

      Dedication

      To workers and consumers everywhere.

      You are the true wealth creators.

      We are indebted to you.

      Foreword

      We are all consumers. Spending money is what drives the economy. These statements are so transparently obvious that most people don’t stop to really think about them. They are so obvious that they are taken for granted. In doing so, the obvious implications are often overlooked. People don’t think about consumers living in an interdependent regime. They don’t think about how poverty affects the entire economy. They don’t consider that people who suffer poverty are not capable of spending enough to sustain the economy. Businesses depend on consumer spending, and workers depend on businesses for their jobs. People don’t realize that when workers don’t get a living wage, their bosses are essentially starving the entire economy. Those groups who want to repeal social security, and who want to deport undocumented immigrants, don’t think about the giant hole this would leave in the economy. Global warming deniers don’t think about the cost of global warming to their businesses.

      I have written this book for the purpose of bringing attention to these concerns and encourage people to consider their ramifications. I cannot sit idly by and let people ignore the potential consequences. Our survival depends on our thinking about them. My survival, your survival, everyone’s survival. We’re all in the same boat.

      Who’s the Goose?

      I used to hear people say that the government should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. The people who said this were the chief executive officers (CEOs) of big corporations. What they were saying was that they didn’t want government to overtax businesses because it would reduce their profit, which was the source of their prosperity.

      So what’s with the goose that lays the golden eggs? The saying refers to an old fable that goes like this: There once was a peasant who went shopping at the local marketplace. The peasant bought a goose, and, to his delight, it turned out that this goose laid eggs made of gold. Accordingly, the peasant became rich. One day the peasant became hungry, and he killed the goose and cooked it. The peasant had a great dinner, but he lost the golden eggs and his wealth along with them.

      This story can be applied to our current society. We can ask ourselves, Who’s the goose laying the golden eggs? Is it the corporations? According to venture capitalist and entrepreneur Rick Hanauer, it’s not the corporations but the consumers. He says consumers are the country’s true job creators. Corporations have been growing ever more wealthy, but not one cent of that money has created jobs. He himself has created and invested in dozens of manufacturing, retail, medical, and Internet companies, but he gives the credit to consumers.[1]

      Consumers are potentially the most powerful group in America. They can bring the most powerful corporation to its knees simply by not patronizing it.

      Investment counselor A. Gary Shilling says that if you want to understand economics, you should pay attention to the consumers.[2]

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