On Monday, Moody’s Analytics reiterated what progressive economists have been saying for years: Wealthy individuals pocketed a significant share of the Bush tax cuts rather than reinvest that money in job-creating investments. What really drives investment, Moody’s says, is a growing economy that employs its people.

The wisdom of direct spending on job creation, and the folly of extending the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy, is reinforced by sobering warnings about the global economy such as the one Monday from the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, who said that the financial crisis “won’t be over until unemployment significantly decreases” and said that nations should spend more on job creation in order to regain financial stability. The comments are a sharp rebuke to conservatives in the United States and other industrialized countries who have used the global economic crisis to drive their agenda of dismantling government.

David Dyson, who co-owns an insurance company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said he’s more concerned about the state of the economy than the prospect of a tax increase, which he figures will cost him as much as $30,000.

“I have more than enough money to live on and probably will go out to eat as much as I do,” said Dyson, 58. On the other hand, he may decide to postpone building an addition to his house. “That’s primarily on hold because of the economy, not necessarily my taxes,” he said.

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