"I am a Job Creator: This is the Country I Want"

On September 29 Steven Pearlstein, a Pulitzer Prize columnist at the Washington Post, published a satirical manifesto of the entitled, called "I am a job creator: A manifesto for the entitled." It's great; in addition to the link above I've taken the liberty of reprinting it below the break since it accurately portrays the beliefs of the self annointed "highly entitled," of whom I personally know many.

And yet not all highly successful businessmen -- or highly successful people -- fall into this mode. James Kwak, who started the software company Guideware Software used by the insurance industry, made a lot of money, and then got a law degree and now teaches law (he also has a Ph.D. and runs the influential economics blog The Baseline Scenario with Simon Johnson, an economist who holds an endowed chair at MIT), wrote a reply of sorts in The Atlantic entitled I am a Job Creator: This is the Country I Want. It's worth quoting -- hell it's worth reading in full:

I am a "job creator."

I co-founded a software company eleven years ago and worked there for seven years. It now employs over eight hundred people, most of them in the United States and most in high-paying jobs. Hundreds of other people have jobs installing and configuring our software for our customers.

I realize that my company probably caused other people to lose their jobs--most obviously at our competitors. I believe that, in the long run, products that increase productivity and that provide benefits exceeding their costs do improve overall welfare.

I pay tax at historically low rates. Most of my income from my former company technically counts as investment income, and taxes on investment income were lowered by both President Clinton and President Bush.

I had no idea, when we started the company, what the capital gains tax rate was.

I would be a major beneficiary of the proposal by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to maintain low capital gains tax rates (or eliminate them altogether).

         * * *

I know that life is unfair. I know that there are people who live by the rules, pay their bills, and work hard, yet cannot afford to retire comfortably. I know that there are people who become disabled in the prime of their careers; who pay for long-term care for their parents; who struggle to pay the medical bills for their sick children; who are laid off in the depths of a recession and are unable to find new jobs.

I believe that to remain a great nation, we must do two things.

First, we must preserve the equality of opportunity that makes it possible for any American to dream of success or, at least, to look forward to a better future. We must invest in our educational system, from pre-school programs that help bridge the gap between rich and poor to public universities that train the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. We must fight discrimination in all its forms so that our society can benefit from the talents of all its members. We must ensure equal access to justice for all people, not just those who can afford good lawyers.

Second, we must recognize that not everyone will be financially successful and we must maintain a real safety net for people who need help. A society where the lucky few reap prodigious financial rewards is one where many will fall short of their dreams through no fault of their own. We must insure all people against disability, against sickness, against hunger, and against homelessness.

I realize that these things cost money. I believe that the costs of building and maintaining a great country should be shared by all of us, beginning with the people who benefit the most from our society. I believe that people like me (and people who are far wealthier) should pay more in taxes.

I completely agree.  At his blog, Kwak adds a comment: lowering the low capital gains rate not only did not affect his decision to start a company, it doesn't affect how he uses his money now. Continuing to give him a low capital gains treatment is only a windfall for him.

Here's the original editorial-satire, which hits it on the head:

I am a job creator: A manifesto for the entitled
by Steven Pearlstein (Washington Post 9/29/2012)

I am a corporate chief executive.

I am a business owner.

I am a private-equity fund manager.

I am the misunderstood superhero of American capitalism, single-handedly creating wealth and prosperity despite all the obstacles put in my way by employees, government and the media.

I am a job creator and I am entitled.

I am entitled to complain about the economy even when my stock price, my portfolio and my profits are at record levels.

I am entitled to a healthy and well-educated workforce, a modern and efficient transportation system and protection for my person and property, just as I am entitled to demonize the government workers who provide them.

I am entitled to complain bitterly about taxes that are always too high, even when they are at record lows.

I am entitled to a judicial system that efficiently enforces contracts and legal obligations on customers, suppliers and employees but does not afford them the same right in return.

I am entitled to complain about the poor quality of service provided by government agencies even as I leave my own customers on hold for 35 minutes while repeatedly telling them how important their call is.

I am entitled to a compensation package that is above average for my company’s size and industry, reflecting the company’s aspirations if not its performance.

I am entitled to have the company pay for breakfasts and lunches, a luxury car and private jet travel, my country club dues and home security systems, box seats to all major sporting events, a pension equal to my current salary and a full package of insurance — life, health, dental, disability and long-term care — through retirement.

I am entitled to have my earned income taxed as capital gains and my investment income taxed at the lowest rate anywhere in the world — or not at all.

I am entitled to inside information and favorable investment opportunities not available to ordinary investors. I am entitled to brag about my investment returns.

I am entitled to pass on my accumulated wealth tax-free to heirs, who in turn, are entitled to claim that they earned everything they have.

I am entitled to use unlimited amounts of my own or company funds to buy elections without disclosing such expenditures to shareholders or the public.

I am entitled to use company funds to burnish my own charitable reputation.

I am entitled to provide political support to radical, uncompromising politicians and then complain about how dysfunctional Washington has become.

Although I have no clue how government works, I am entitled to be consulted on public policy by politicians and bureaucrats who have no clue about how business works.

I am entitled to publicly criticize the president and members of Congress, who are not entitled to criticize me.

I am entitled to fire any worker who tries to organize a union. I am entitled to break any existing union by moving, or threatening to move, operations to a union-hostile environment.

I am entitled to a duty of care and loyalty from employees and investors who are owed no such duty in return.

I am entitled to operate my business free of all government regulations other than those written or approved by my industry.

I am entitled to load companies up with debt in order to pay myself and investors big dividends — and then blame any bankruptcy on over-compensated workers.

I am entitled to contracts, subsidies, tax breaks, loans and even bailouts from government, even as I complain about job-killing government budget deficits.

I am entitled to federal entitlement reform.

I am entitled to take credit for all the jobs I create while ignoring any jobs I destroy.

I am entitled to claim credit for all the profits made during a booming economy while blaming losses or setbacks on adverse market or economic conditions.

I am entitled to deny knowledge or responsibility for any controversial decisions made after my departure from the company, even while profiting from such decisions if they enhance shareholder value.

I am entitled to all the rights and privileges of running an American company, but owe no loyalty to American workers or taxpayers.

I am entitled to confidential information about my employees and customers while refusing even to list the company’s phone number on its Web site.

I am entitled to be treated with deference and respect by investors I mislead, customers I bamboozle, directors I manipulate and employees I view as expendable.

I am entitled to be lionized in the media without answering any questions from reporters.

I am entitled to the VIP entrance.

I am entitled to everything I have and more that I still deserve.