Obama Taps Guy Who Thinks His Tax Credit Won't Work To Be His Top Economic Aide (Austan Goolsbee)

Obama Taps Guy Who Thinks His Tax Credit Won't Work To Be His Top Economic Aide

Not a huge surprise: Obama is hiring Austan Goolsbee to replace outgoing top economic aide Christina Romer.

Goolsbee's been in the administration for awhile, and is frequently on TV, so this is a logical choice.

Just this week, though, folks discovered an old paper of Goolsbee's in which he slams the type of business tax breaks that Obama proposed this week. Hopefully the first TV interview he does will see him asked about that.

And now he's just another corrupted academic more in love with the scent of power than the light of truth. Not surprisingly, he's another one from Chicago.

Here's the opening statement from his 1997 paper, Investment Tax Incentives, Prices, and the Supply of Capital Goods(emphasis mine):

Investment is of paramount importance for both business cycle fluctuations and long term economic growth so it is not surprising that the United States has repeatedly changed depreciation allowances, corporate tax rates, and the investment tax credit (ITC) in an effort to stimulate it. Although there appears to be an abiding faith among policy makers that tax incentives can influence the investment decisions of firms and serve as a tool for stabilizing the economy, empirical evidence for the connection is weak. Econometric research has commonly found that tax policy and the cost of capital have little effect on real investment.

Abiding faith in what clearly ain't so - that's a perfect description of Obama and the neo-fascists, I mean democrats.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.