Business Quote by Noam Chomsky
““Like, suppose Massachusetts were to increase business taxes. Most of the population is in favor of it, but you can predict what would happen. Business would run a public relations campaign―which is true, in fact, it's not lies―saying, "You raise taxes on business, you soak the rich, and you'll find that capital is going to flow elsewhere, and you're not going to have any jobs, you're not going to have anything." That's not the way they'd put it exactly, but that's what it would amount to: "Unless you make us happy you're not going to have anything, because we own the place; you live here, but we own the place." And in fact, that's basically the message that is presented, not in those words of course, whenever a reform measure does come along somewhere―they have a big propaganda campaign saying, it's going to hurt jobs, it's going to hurt investment, there's going to be a loss of business confidence, and so on. That's just a complicated way of saying, unless you keep business happy, the population isn't going to have anything.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on tax policy, 2015
Businesses claim that higher taxes will drive away investment and jobs, using fear tactics to protect their interests.
In simple terms: Businesses warn taxes hurt jobs to keep power.
Question policies, not rhetoric.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- legislative debates
- campaign messaging
- public forums
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you evaluate claims about tax impacts?
- What evidence counters fear‑based arguments?
Businesses may exaggerate impacts to influence opinion.