3 Big Lies Perpetuated By the Rich

When it comes to the economy, too many Americans continue to be numbed by the soothing sounds of conservative spin in the media. Here are three of their more inventive claims:

1. Higher taxes on the rich will hurt small businesses and discourage job creators

A recent Treasury analysis found that only 2.5% of small businesses [3] would face higher taxes from the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.

As for job creation, it's not coming from the people with money. Over 90% of the assets [4]owned by millionaires are held in a combination of low-risk investments (bonds and cash), the stock market, real estate, and personal business accounts [5]. Angel investing [6] (capital provided by affluent individuals for business start-ups) accounted for less than 1% of theinvestable assets [4] of high net worth individuals in North America in 2011. The Mendelsohn Affluent Survey [7] agreed that the very rich spend less than two percent of their money on new business startups.

The Wall Street Journal [8] noted, in way of confirmation, that the extra wealth created by the Bush tax cuts led to the "worst track record for jobs in recorded history."