An article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago, told of a man named Kenneth Griffin who has donated $125 million to his favorite charity, in this case the University of Chicago’s economics department. This was the second largest gift to the University. The largest was a gift of $300 million by David Booth. The $125 million will be used to pay for more economics professors, expanded financial aid for students, creation of a research incubator, plus other things. The economics department will henceforth be known as the, “Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics.” A well earned title.
Griffin is the founder and chief executive of the Citadel LLC hedge fund. I am certain that his earnings are taxed federally at about 40%, and I have no idea of what his state and local taxes are, but well in excess of 50% total, without doubt. A quick arithmetical calculation, indicates that if it were not for the taxes, the gift may have been $250 million, or Griffin could have gifted money to other charities of his choosing.
Rockefeller, Carnegie, and their ilk, lived in days of no taxes, no welfare, no world wars, or inflation. Doesn’t that sound nice! The really richest men in those days of yore, had in 2017 dollars, trillions of dollars to give away, build libraries, infrastructure, memorial skyscrapers, and whatever suited them. They hired hundreds of thousands to fulfill their dreams. Dreams maybe, to build sumptuous 50 bedroom mansions on New York’s 5th Ave, or finance The Museum of Modern Art (ugh), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Natural History, or others, which were all financed by wealthy nabobs. We have the Chrysler Building, the Woolworth Building, or the Singer Building, which catastrophically was razed in 1967. Try to imagine what New York would be without the Rockefeller Plaza and Radio City Music Hall, The Waldorf Astoria, etc. With current taxes, wasted on the welfare state and every imaginable futility, none of New York’s world famous structures would exist, because those edifices the world appreciates, were built by rich people who had to pay no taxes. Imagine America without the 2500 Carnegie Libraries. Imagine America without its railroads, which were all built, not by government, but private enterprise. Boeing airplanes were not financed, or conceived by government, but by William Boeing. Ford had no government money, and neither did the Dodge Brothers, or other founders of American autos. Elisha Otis elevators had nothing to do with government. All of the gold and silver mines, farms, businesses, corporations, and prosperity generating outfits in American history, had nothing to do with government.
What has government ever invented? Wars, taxes, give-aways, inflation, regulations, and bureaucracy. When John Deere invented the steel plow in 1837, and all of the above mentioned inventions and structures, government had nothing to do with them. Government was so microscopic, that all of its expenses were paid with tariffs. As Will Rogers once noted, America is in great danger when congress is in session.
And now, all the promises Trump promised during his campaign, and which promises got him elected as well as senators and congressmen, are all being hamstrung by those senators and congressmen. The health care bill failed by one vote of John McCain. Will Republican intransigence and stupidity, cause the dream we all were so happy about, to wilt and fall away? Will the Democratic socialists and communists regain power and destroy America in next year’s elections? We can hope not.