Lafferism = Cult
While I’m much more sympathetic to weak supply side economics than most on the left (I think that in a fairly wide range of circumstances, reducing marginal tax rates on income and investment will spur growth) I still firmly believe that at the fairly low American levels of taxation, the Laffer Curve is a complete joke. Of course, real economists, even relatively right wing ones like Greg Mankiw, think the Curve is silly. And, not surprisingly, economic bloggers who are right of center also think it’s crazy. But because the Curve is such an article of faith in the GOP and conservative movement, Megan McArdle can’t publish a book review:
A conservative publication, which I will not name, just spiked a book review because I said that the Laffer Curve didn’t apply at American levels of taxation, even while otherwise expressing my vast displeasure with the (liberal) economic notions of the book I was reviewing. This isn’t me looking for an alternative explanation for the spiking of a bad review: the literary editor accepted it, edited it, and then three hours later told me it couldn’t be published because it violated their editorial line on taxation.
I suppose I ought to have known, but I didn’t. Go ahead liberals, pile on: you told me so.
It’s hard to think of any other policy position that is widely held by many influential and powerful people that is so unambiguously incorrect on empirical grounds. Good thing Jon Chait wrote an entire book about this nonsense.
