‘Voodoo economics’ is still voodoo
The moon is made out of blue cheese; there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; a cat has nine lives; Einstein failed math; on Halloween, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch with a bag of toys; if we cut taxes for the wealthy, it will result in growth, more jobs and better wages for everyone.
These are called folktales, folklore, fantasies or, perhaps, just plain lies.
Believe in the economic theory known as “supply side economics,” also known as “Reaganomics,” “voodoo economics” or “trickle down economics”? Then you must really believe in fairy tales, because one is as likely to find a black sheep selling wool, or three men at sea in a bathtub, as one is to see economic growth from this economic theory. Reagan tried, and failed. George W. Bush tried, and remember how that ended?
But they will drag out those fantasies to justify a truly massive tax cut for the very wealthy, paid for by a large increase in the deficit and a dramatic worsening of the income inequality we have experienced over the past five decades.
Worse yet, now they want to pay for it by ending health care for millions of people. So, Trump gets $1 billion in tax cuts, the Kochs get tens of billions, and those earning less than $75,000 will get to pay more in taxes and more for health insurance. Trump, that’s a heck of a deal, but it isn’t art.
Wes Grady
Bluffton
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This story was originally published December 3, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘Voodoo economics’ is still voodoo."