Saturday, January 31, 2009

Stimulating Thoughts or "Bang for the Buck"


Source: The Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (.pdf)* (TC=Tax Cut; PTC=Permanent Tax Cut; TTC=Temporary Tax Cut; SI=Government Spending Increase.

Republican ideology has it that the only way to stimulate the economy is to engage in tax cuts. They oppose government "spending", though in this context "spending" might better be characterized as "investment" ... something you'd think Republicans could understand!

* The paper was co-authored by Mark Zandi who has impeccable credentials. He is the Chief Economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com, an independent subsidiary of Moody's that provides economic research and consulting services to businesses, governments and other institutions. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Republican, was an economic advisor to John McCain and was a maxed out contributor to McCain's presidential campaign.

Don't these guys read the stuff THEIR economic advisors write? Is it a problem with reading comprehension? Or is the blind support for various tax cut schemes simply a knee-jerk, ideological response?

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