except they're still geared to soak the middle class
Indeed. And the trump/GOP tax bill is about to raise taxes every year for the middle class.for a.while, starting in 2021. We shall see which party wants to lower taxes for the middle class.
neither does neither will
oh sure they'll tell you that income taxes might be cut a little but they'll just broaden the tax base like Reagan did and people will really end up paying more
raise the minimum wage to raise tax revenue!
You know better than this, you've been taught.
Employers won't cut employees more than nine to one. Anything less than that still generates more federal income tax revenue than more people working at the current minimum wage rate.
And you think that over half the workforce getting raises won't have any impact on the labor market? Remember, 60%+ of the workforce earns $20/hr or less. All of them are going to either get a raise because they currently earn less then $15/hr or demand one because they don't want to go from making well over MW to making the same as some guy who just walked in off the street, or they'll quit. No, the only way you safely get to $15/hr is to raise it slowly enough that by the time you get there, the usual suspects (that's you) will be demanding $25/hr. Basically, you're looking to wreck the economy attempting to squeeze a few more dollars out of the working poor to feed the monster federal government.
Wages have not been meeting or beating inflation on an Institutional basis for Labor as the least wealthy in our republic. That creates more problems and increases the Cost of Government because means tested social services are expensive to administer.
Options:
1. Beat inflation. That means less government borrowing and spending, along with QE, which in turn means wilder swings in the economy.
2. Raise the actual value of labor. That means fewer MW jobs and more jobs requiring skills, training, and education.
Arbitrarily raising the MW in a vain attempt to make wages keep pace with inflation is a losing game because that action drives inflation and you eventually end up with worthless currency. Right now, you're advocating cutting the purchasing power of the dollar in half when it comes to labor. What used to buy an hour of labor will, in your fantasy, buy 1/2 hour.