Who Are the Real Job Creators?

We've heard plenty this year about "job creators" and why we shouldn't "punish" them. But really, who are these "job creators"? What's the engine that gets this economy moving?

Seattle based venture capitalist Nick Hanauer provides a surprising answer. He says we've had it all wrong in the past three decades. If we really want to boost "job creators", then we must look beyond Wall Street and take a closer look at Main Street.

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"This idea is a way of completely misunderstanding how economies truly work," Hanauer said on The Last Word Monday. "The people who create jobs is the middle class. When a middle class consumer buys something from a company, that is what creates jobs. And that's why it doesn't matter very much if rich people pay higher rates of tax, because the true engine of job creation is a thriving middle class."

"A businessperson calling themselves a job creator is like a school claiming to have created evolution," Hanauer added. "It's just not true."

The notion that the rich are "job creators" is at the core of Mitt Romney's economic platform. Like the rest of his party, Romney opposes raising taxes even on the richest 2 percent of Americans, arguing that doing so would stymie job growth.

Think about it. Who buys the bulk of the shiny new electronic gadgets at Fry's? Who buys most of the groceries at Trader Joe's? Who does most of the stocking up at yet another Macy's summer sale? We do! The middle class truly is the engine that drives our economy. We buy most of the consumer goods and services, and that's what fuels job growth.

And in case that wasn't convincing enough for you, Desert Beacon has more facts and figures showing how "trickle down economics" fail to fuel job growth. Since middle class families are the biggest chunk of the population and make most of the consumer purchases, then it makes the most sense to ensure they have money to spend. They need the tax cuts. The super rich don't.

Really, one need not look further than Mitt Romney to see why this doesn't work. Despite all the tax breaks he gets, he's been busy destroying American jobs and hiding his money in offshore bank accounts. If that isn't enough evidence to prove that we've had it all wrong on "job creators", then I don't know what is.