For punishment, I sometimes read what Republican partisans actually believe about economics. The level of hyper-ignorance is shocking. Here is a statement from somebody called Ed Morrissey:
“The Left has demonized the Bush tax cuts as the Source of All Deficits for years, even though tax revenues increased after the cuts as the economy began booming again.’
Do these people really believe stuff like this? Isn’t he aware of the difference between the tax rate and the tax base, and that a fall in nominal revenue would entail a major recessionary effect on the tax base? Simply looking at whether revenue increased is the height of idiocy – the relevant comparison is the revenue relative to what it would have been without the tax cut. And the answer here is pellucid: substantially higher. How you can you have a serious economic debate with people like Morrissey who will deny simple facts like tax cuts cause deficits to increase? It’s like debating science with a person who believes the earth is flat. Does Morrissey really represent the dominant inside-the-bubble view? I don’t know what I find more distasteful – that they believe this hooey, or that they are making it up to cynically mask upward redistribution.
(Read the whole thing if you have the stomach for it. He goes on to argue that extending unemployment benefits makes the recession worse!)
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