Posted on 10/17/2009 3:33:57 PM PDT by Son House
Robert Barro, Professor of Economics at Harvard University, criticizes the recently passed federal stimulus package as a "terrible piece of legislation," and calls for permanent changes to the tax structure to spur economic growth.
In a discussion with Tax Foundation Vice President for Economic Policy Robert Carroll in this week's edition of the Tax Policy Podcast, Barro strongly disapproves of both the expenditure and tax provisions within the stimulus legislation.
"What they call tax reductions in this bill are really transfer payments, particularly redistribution of income from the rich to the poor," says Barro. "I don't think it's really attractive to do something in a temporary fashion. You want to have a more stable tax structure."
Barro points to the 2003 tax cut legislation as being very positive for economic growth, and chides the current administration for blaming those policies for the current economic downturn.
"The economy did very well for the next several years after the tax cuts of 2003. And it's very unfair that Obama has blamed that program for part of the current financial collapse," Barro argues. "There's really no linkage between the tax rate cutting program of 2003 and the financial and housing collapse we've seen in recent months."
Barro also makes recommendations to lawmakers regarding long-term economic incentives to drive economic expansion.
"Abolishing the corporate income tax at the federal level I think would be very positive. It's a very poor form of taxation," says Barro. "I would make permanent the kinds of changes that were in the 2003 tax reform, including the marginal tax rate structure."
This Tax Policy Podcast can be found at http://www.taxfoundation.org/podcast/show/24350.html.
October 3, 2008 — Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 = 110th United States Congress
February 13, 2008 — Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 = 110th United States Congress
Worst Congress, ever. Worst President, ever.
Was this a new idea, or did he think this before it was passed? Did he communicate it when the Congress was considering it?
FlashBack 2006: Are the Bush Tax Cuts Working?[1.4 million Jobs the Nine Months After August 2003]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364667/posts
GDP Growth [Charts at link]
After the recession in 2001 and the first round of tax cuts, economic growth speeded up and is expected to pickup even faster in 2004.
The real annual GDP growth rate increased from 0.3 percent in 2001 to 2.5 percent in 2002. In the third quarter of 2003, GDP grew at a 7.2 percent annual rate. Forecasters are expecting GDP to grow by 4.6 percent in 2004, the highest in 20 years.
2003 and 2004 economic growth levels surpassed Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates by 150 basis combined, resulting in $300 billion of additional growth, which is roughly $2,500 per household.
^
What happened 3rd quarter 2003 before GDP grew at 7.2%:
May 28, 2003 — Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 = 108th United States Congress—Thank you Republicans
^
Next, to credit the regression of the GDP and irresponsible budgeting, Thanks Democrats;
110th United States Congress
http://www.freebase.com/view/en/110th_united_states_congress
between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers
^
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2006 est.)
2% (2007 est.)
1.1% (2008 est.)
Just the state run media neglecting to report it for months, the article is dated FEBRUARY 19, 2009, I just didn’t mark this as a Flashback because the folks in Detroit didn’t get the news /sarcasm level 5
He’ll be drummed out of Harvard like Larry Summers.
bookmark.
It could be worse...
What if a foreigner tossed his shoe at the Village Idiot on foreign ground?
Oh, the humanity!!
stupid
I mean really, what piece of legislation passed by the rats was not harmful?
notachance- he is an institionand will win a nobel the nexttenyears.
Super greatguy.
Since the start of the recession in December 2007, we’ve lost 7.6 million jobs
^
February 13, 2008 — Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 = 110th United States Congress
October 3, 2008 — Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 = 110th United States Congress
February 17, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act = 111th United States Congress
^
Seem Democrats have tried everything EXCEPT Across the Board Tax Cuts
And it’s very unfair that Obama has blamed that program for part of the current financial collapse,” Barro argues. “There’s really no linkage between the tax rate cutting program of 2003 and the financial and housing collapse we’ve seen in recent months.”
Bravo! Someone who hasn’t swilled the kool-aid .
bump
Yes and too many Harvard grads suck.
Absolutely! However, chances of all being re-elected? 50/50
Obama is an economically illiterate demigogue who despises the country he governs, precisely for the mass wealth is enables. He welcomes the economic collapse of the United States, he just wants to blame it on the Republicans.
What's next, 2 + 2 = 4?
Obama agreed to three one-hour debates with Professor Barro, to be broadcast to the schoolchildren of America.
The President vowed, on his side, to “keep it simple”, and suggested the kids should sing the “mmm-mmmm-mmmOBama song” when Barro was talking.
>> He’ll be drummed out of Harvard like Larry Summers. <<
No, not at all. In the first place, Barro has tenure. In the second place, the Harvard Economics Department is well-known in the economics profession for a relatively conservative-libertarian slant.
No he won’t. Barro is a top drawer economist in the Chicago tradition of Friedman/Stigler.
Summers was a famous economist’s son in law (Paul Samuelson). Summers is a lightweight who relied on diversity to survive and it blew up in his face.
Barro should have gotten his Nobel Prize already. His Ricardian Equivalence concept is widely used in macroeconomics.
>> Summers was a famous economist’s son in law (Paul Samuelson). <<
Close, but not quite:
Samuelson is Summers’ uncle — the older brother of his father, Robert Summers.
Kenneth Arrow is another uncle — a brother to Larry Summers’ mother.
In my opinion, moreover, Robert Summers is the best and most useful economist of the lot — thanks to his first-rate empirical work on international comparisons of purchasing power parity.
Get rid of business and capital gains taxes. Eliminate social welfare programs disguised as tax credits. Pass a flat rate tax of 20% or so and exclude the first $10,000 from it. Stop the insanity of massive tax write-offs for homeowners which artificially drives up their prices.
Remember, not a single Republican Congressman voted for this disaster. We should run ads saying this.
Duh.
2+2=14 (for me) - 10 (off book loss that will be born by the taxpayers).
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