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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy are we still pretending 'trickle-down' economics work?
Why are we still pretending 'trickle-down' economics work?
Morris Pearl at the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/12/why-are-we-still-pretending-trickle-down-economics-work
"SNIP.....
Most likely, its because Laffers theory just so happens to serve as the basis for every terrible tax cut that Trump and the Republican party have passed for decades.
It all began in 1974, when Laffer walked into a bar with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who were working for the Ford administration at the time. Out of it came the Laffer curve, a U-shaped graph illustrating the relationship between tax rates and revenue.
The ends of the curve are basic enough at a tax rate of 0, the government will raise $0 in revenue, and at a tax rate of 100, the government will still raise $0 in revenue because people wont work without take-home pay.
At the extremes, the Laffer curve is correct, but that doesnt tell us anything about the points in the middle. Laffers idea, however, was that a tipping point existed on the continuum in between, where peoples incentives to work and invest decreased because tax rates were too onerous.
.....SNIP"
wasupaloopa
(4,516 posts)it didnt work. So did poppy Bush.
It is one of the lies perpetuated by Repubs to support cutting taxes on the rich.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)And they hated him for it. What is interesting is that he went ahead and raised taxes anyway because he knew it was necessary. Unless I'm mistaken, it was also Poppy Bush who coined the term "Voodoo economics."
No, I am not sighing over the good old days under Bush 1. I am pointing out the difference between Bush republicans and Rump republicans.
Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)for the rich.
ProfessorGAC
(65,168 posts)Rich people did great in the 50s, 90s, and during the Obama recovery period after the Silverspoon recession.
Taxes went UP in all those periods, yet investment value were between good & great.
onecaliberal
(32,894 posts)sop
(10,244 posts)back in 2012. As a result, Kansas ran up significant deficits and had to cut many necessary public services, but the rich did get richer.
Laffer supported Trump's tax cuts in 2017. That isn't going too well for average workers, and it added $1.5 trillion to the nation's debt, but the wealthy are really making out.
Now Trump's awarding him the Medal of Freedom in a few days, mostly because Laffer's as big a con man as he is. And he wrote a book praising "Trumponomics."
Poiuyt
(18,130 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)the professor instructed the auditorium-sized class to open our brand-new textbooks to a certain page and, once all open, to permanently cross out a section describing the dynamics of the Laffer curve and national revenue. Absolutely no explanation given. He just smiled and rocked on his heels as he waited and then welcomed us to macroecon.
Apparently some political maneuvering had gotten it put in as if it was established thought belonging in a beginning text. He seemingly disagreed even though it hadn't even had a chance to fail spectacularly in application under Reagan yet (from our point of view, of course, not that of the beneficiaries), so he "removed" it.
He always seemed privately amused by us, so I'm guessing he'd find manage to find something funny in an author of Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy. getting the Medal of Freedom from a president who certainly never read past the part with his name on it, at a time when the economy was again proving Laffer's trickle down completely wrong.
applegrove
(118,778 posts)as if it was the most basic of theories.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)I think mine was "the previous class," though. The scoundrels who created Reaganomics were already busy, but Reagan came later.
I always remember that teacher with a smile. He never gave any indication of political leanings or discussed politics in any way. I assume a solid foundation of understanding is what he wanted to offer.
A's were extremely hard to get, really had to understand and be able to use in tough problems beyond what had been presented; but just passing with a C (for the auditorium full of disinterested kids who just wanted a business degree for middlin' jobs) only required memorizing the material he told us to. Neat person, later 50s then, often grinning at us as he quizzed students but never saying why. I'm smiling as I remember. Hope he had a long, wonderful retirement.
applegrove
(118,778 posts)I'm in Canada and the propaganda got that far.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)slavery to new states was a pre-death knell for the plantation economy, and of course their "gracious" way of life, and they knew it.
GeorgeGist
(25,323 posts)most of us stopped pretending 30+ years ago.
pecosbob
(7,543 posts)The only people still pushing it are the tools of the rich, but don't think for a minute that they actually believe it actually works. The one percenters are preparing for the coming war for resources and breathable air and drinkable water, and guess what...we aren't on the guest list for their fortified enclaves.
If you support the status quo, you are part of the problem.