Economy

Debunking the Ruprechts

Krugman's new column is a must-read. Here's a blurb to keep handy:

Next, write off anyone who asserts that it’s always better to cut taxes than to increase government spending because taxpayers, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of how to spend their money.

Here’s how to think about this argument: it implies that we should shut down the air traffic control system. After all, that system is paid for with fees on air tickets — and surely it would be better to let the flying public keep its money rather than hand it over to government bureaucrats. If that would mean lots of midair collisions, hey, stuff happens.

The point is that nobody really believes that a dollar of tax cuts is always better than a dollar of public spending.

And the larger point is that the Republicans have earned zero cred on the economy. Put another way, we'd be crazy to take seriously the advice of a doctor who's always cutting off the wrong limbs and bypassing the wrong arteries.