Extended Arthur Laffer Appearance on CNBC
My former boss gets the chance to spell out his worldview here:
Incidentally, I had someone ask me (because of the above interview) whether Laffer had always been so nuanced on whether tax rate reductions would lead to tax revenue increases. And the answer is, “Yes, that has always been his position.” In other words, it was dumbed-down supply-side partisans who “learned” the Laffer Curve and then said, “Tax cuts always pay for themselves.” Laffer himself never said, and in fact–duh–the actual Laffer Curve shows that there is a whole region where tax rate reductions lead to revenue losses.
Incidentally, to give Austrians more nuance (since the only thing they might know of Laffer is the Peter Schiff debacle), he opposed Nixon’s decision to close the gold window. He knew that that would be a disaster and lead to loose monetary policy. Note in the video above, he doesn’t just excoriate high tax rates, he also rips government spending and calls for a return to “sound money.”
I like art laffer. For supply-siders, sound money means gold price targeting.
Let´s hope he learned something since his bet against Peter Schiff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYkFYdLTTw8
Haha, I hadn’t seen that. Laffer surely has insight to offer, but talk about being spectacularly wrong, and with such hubris!
That was great. He really wiped the floor with his former student, or whoever he was.
My gosh.
I have never taken the time to watch the Schiff vs Laffer video. In hindsight, Schiff shows Laffer to be an idiot. Laffer has no clue about public finance, and should go back and read James Buchanan’s 1950’s paper on public debt. This “dollar in interest paid is a dollar earned” statement has long been exposed as an urban myth, even for public debt which is held internally. The fact that he actually said this in an argument with Schiff tells me he is either intellectually dishonest, and was just trying to use anything that came to mind to show up Schiff, or he is a genuine blowhard who has not studied nearly as closely as his reputation might suggest.
Also, in the latest video, if you listen closely to Laffer, he is a Keynesian at heart. He does not dispute that deficit fiscal spending, if done wisely, fights recessions. The Laffer curve has done it’s fair share in destroying the fiscal soundness of the U.S. It told the politicians everything they wanted to hear and more.
Bob, thank goodness you escaped from Laffer’s clutches with your soul.
My gosh.
I have never taken the time to watch the Schiff vs Laffer video. In hindsight, Schiff shows Laffer to be an idiot. Laffer has no clue about public finance, and should go back and read James Buchanan’s 1950’s paper on public debt. This “dollar in interest paid is a dollar earned” statement has long been exposed as an urban myth, even for public debt which is held internally. The fact that he actually said this in an argument with Schiff tells me he is either intellectually dishonest, and was just trying to use anything that came to mind to show up Schiff, or he is a genuine blowhard who has not studied nearly as closely as his reputation might suggest.
Also, in the latest video, if you listen closely to Laffer, he is a Keynesian at heart. He does not dispute that deficit fiscal spending, if done wisely, fights recessions. The Laffer curve has done it’s fair share in destroying the fiscal soundness of the U.S. It told the politicians everything they wanted to hear and more.
Bob, thank goodness you escaped from Laffer’s clutches with your soul.