An excellent and unexpected three part series by Dr. Sowell this week.
Posted on 07/20/2011 4:21:17 PM PDT by Kaslin
Last Of Three Parts
Implicit in the approach of both academic and media critics of what they call "tax cuts for the rich" and a "trickle-down theory" is a zero-sum conception of the economy, where the benefits of some come at the expense of others.
That those with such a zero-sum conception of the economy often show little or no interest in the factors affecting the creation of additional wealth — as distinguished from their preoccupation with the distribution of the current level of wealth — is consistent with their vision, however inconsistent it is with the views of others who are focused on the growth of the economy, as emphasized by both Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, for example.
What is also inconsistent is attributing one's own assumptions to those who are arguing on the basis of entirely different assumptions. Challenging those other assumptions, or the conclusions which derive from them, on either analytical or empirical grounds would be legitimate, but simply attributing to them arguments that they never made is not.
President Kennedy, like Andrew Mellon decades earlier, pointed out that "efforts to avoid tax liabilities" make "certain types of less-productive activity more profitable than other more valuable undertakings" and "this inhibits our growth and efficiency." Therefore the "purpose of cutting taxes" is "to achieve a more prosperous, expanding economy."
"Total output and economic growth" were italicized words in the text of Kennedy's address to Congress in January 1963, urging cuts in tax rates. Much the same theme was repeated yet again in President Reagan's February 1981 address to a joint session of Congress, pointing out that "this is not merely a shift of wealth between different sets of taxpayers."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
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An excellent and unexpected three part series by Dr. Sowell this week.
Ping for later...
Keynesian economics is trickle down or top down.
Bottom up economics like Hayek promo
Largest tax cuts in history (up to that time)
NRA Life Member
A real war hero
Stood up for America's interests
Bombed commies
He sounds like a....
You are welcome. Yeah I was surprised too
Reading my first Sowell, “Intellectuals and Society”. So spot on!!! Can’t wait to read the rest of his works. Thinking of “Basic Economics” as my next one. Any recommendations on other books?
I would suggest following Basic Economics with Applied Economics.
Thanks for the ping Jaz. Appreciate it.
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