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Mike Huckabee on Corporations
Republican AR Governor
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Corporate taxes are stupid; they just get embedded in prices
A standard battle cry among liberals is that we need to hit corporations harder & make them pay higher taxes on corporate income. Sounds smart, but it's actually an utterly stupid plan. In reality, corporations don't pay taxes. That's right, not really.
They collect taxes for the government and help the government deceive you into thinking that they are paying. But corporations and businesses simply do what they have to--pass the cost on to you, the unsuspecting consumer. It is for them the simple cost
of doing business. For you, it's another way in which your government has collected taxes from you that you weren't even aware of.The average embedded tax on what we buy in this country is 22%. That means that when you purchase something and pay $100,
the provider got $78 and the government took $22. If you want Congress to put a greater tax burden on businesses, they certainly can do it, but don't think that makes you better off. It means the cost of the product you buy will be higher.
Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p.158
, Nov 18, 2008
Regulations burden small business more than large companies
The cost of regulatory burden is enormous but also felt unequally. As governor, I could see that small employers were generally ill-equipped to handle a visit from an inspector. Mom-and-Pop outfits didn't have lawyers and lobbyists running interference
for them, so they just had to take the hit and pay the fine--only big companies could afford to take the government to court. For firms with more than 500 employees, the annual cost per employee for compliance with environmental law was $717 annually.
For companies with fewer than 20 employees, the annual compliance cost was $3,228.In fact, some big companies have figured out that regulation provides them with an opportunity to "game the system." That is, a large corporation can hire
Washington reps who will help create the rigmarole that disproportionately hurts its smaller rivals. That's one reason why big government and big business usually get along so well together.
Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 69
, Nov 18, 2008
80% of all jobs in this country come from small business
Q: You are talking somewhat less about faith here in New Hampshire and more about economic populism, looking out for the little guy. In a sense, are you trying to rebuild the Republican Party?A: I think the Republican Party needs some repair.
The Republican Party needs to remember that its strength was being the champion for small business. 80% of all jobs in this country come from small business.
If we become the party that forgets that, if we become the party that does not empower the individual who wants to struggle from his place at the lower end of the economic spectrum up the ladder, then we’re going to
lose a lot of the base that gave us great strength, that helped us to become the majority party, that built the Reagan coalition, that also helped elect both George Bush 41 and George Bush 43.
Source: 2008 Fox News interview: “Choosing the President” series
, Jan 6, 2008
Wal-Mart is case study in genius of American marketplace
Though often demonized because of its immense size and extraordinary growth, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart is a case study in the genius of the American marketplace. As governor of the state that Wal-Mart calls home, I often found myself in the position of
defending it against uninformed and often ill-willed critics. Wal-Mart has become the largest private sector employer in approximately 49 of our 50 states. And somebody apparently likes this company, since 150 million people a week enter its door.
Labor unions in particular have sought to disparage Wal-Mart as a workplace, despite the fact that the average wage paid to its 46,000-strong Arkansas workforce is some $4.50 higher per hour than the minimum wage. A new store in Chicago scheduled
to employ 325 people watched as 25,000 applied.
Allow me to list three reasons for this retailing behemoths extraordinary success: - Wal-Mart empowers the consumer
- An efficient cost structure
- An exemplary corporate structure.
Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p.166-167
, Jan 4, 2007
Consumerism is addictive but tranquility is immaterial
Some people preach that having too much is a sin, but that is not what the Bible teaches. The issue of wealth is not how much you have but how you got it. One of the great challenges of life is determining that our pleasure shouldn’t be based on the
amount of our treasure. When life and its enjoyment are defined by what we have accumulated, we’re to be pitied rather than envied. Our treasure should never become our job, home, car, property, or any other “toys.” Consumerism can be intoxicating and
addictive. Those who are swept up in its power find their occasional moments of ecstasy tied to the purchase of something.
A sense of real peace is achieved only when you can say that material things are genuinely immaterial.
It’s not so much what we have but what has us that will determine our inner tranquility. There’s no prohibition in God’s Word to having much, but there’s a strong admonition not to allow even a little to possess us.
Source: Living Beyond Your Lifetime, by Mike Huckabee, p.159-160
, Oct 1, 2000
Page last updated: Feb 24, 2012