Quote:Tax rates can be historically high and the economy succeed as long as the rest of the free world is in rubble. The 50s proved that. But when you have global competition and numerous first-world economies to compete against then it's a totally different story to attract and retain core industries.

 

Multiple European nations have proven you don't need to race to the bottom in order to "succeed".

 

The real keys to national wealth are high tax rates, high social welfare spending, especially at the collegiate level, and worker representation.

 

The last one is really key. A good example of this is Germany, where any corporation with 500 or more people must have 50% labor/union representation in its corporate board.

 

They are successful because executives don't just issue edict from up on high, they actually have to work with the people that compose their company, and that keeps the ship righted.

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