With Democrats like this, who needs Republicans

A recent study shows that 1 in 7 Americans now live below the poverty level and the median income for all Americans has dropped by 5% in the past decade.

While that concerns Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) he has other priorities.

Here is part of an interview with Chuck Todd of MSNBC he did today

TODD: Yesterday, the Census came out and said one in seven Americans are living below the poverty line. Do you look at that story today — you know, you open up your USA Today, right, and you see that story — and you see Washington is debating the tax rates for the wealthy, and you sit there and say, isn’t that a disconnect in America right now?

BAYH: It is a disconnect, Chuck. What we need to be focused on is growth, how do we create jobs, how do we expand businesses. That needs to be job one right now. And all these other issues involving, oh, fairness and things like that can wait.

Forget that income inequality is at its highest level since 1928 (and we know what happened then) and let's also ignore the $830 billion that will be tagged on to the deficit if taxes for the top 2% aren't raised.

More importantly, let's forget the myth that lower taxes for the richest is the best way of creating new jobs. It has becme the perceived reality, not just got the right but for many in the mainstream center.

Econominsts have calculated that lowering taxes fvor the richest earners has a multiplier effect of 0.31 which means that for every dollar of additional income a mere 31 cents of economic activity are created. Unemployment insurance payments by contrast have a multiplier effect of 1.77 in generated economic activity.

Jobs on any positive scale will only be created when demand is stimulated and demand will only be stimulated when we get maximum bang for our money and tax cuts for the rich is the last place that will happen.