Republicans are incredibly adept at selling a particular message – regardless of whether or not there is a valid theory behind the message. No other Republican statement qualifies better than “tax cuts pay for themselves.” It is an insidious phrase for two reasons.

First – it doesn’t work. Secondly, it’s an easy sell that plays to the worst side of human nature – the desire to have something for nothing.

Here is a history of tax revenue from individual taxpayers for Reagan, Clinton and Bush 43. All information comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Tax revenues from individual taxpayers were $290 billion in 1981 and $451 billion in 1989 for an increase of 55%. Over the same period, the GDP price deflator increased from 59.128 to 78.569, or an increase of 32.87%. This makes the inflation-adjusted increase in tax revenues from individuals for Reagan's presidency 22.13%.

Tax revenues from individual taxpayers were $505 billion in 1993 and $994 billion in 2001 for an increase of 96%%. Over the same period, the GDP price deflator increased from 88.39 to 102.42 or an increase of 15%. This makes the inflation-adjusted increase in tax revenues from individuals for Clinton's presidency 81%.

Tax revenues from individual taxpayers were $994 billion in 2001 and $1.086 trillion in the third quarter of 2006 for an increase of 9.25%. Over the same period, the GDP price deflator increased from 102.42 to 116.431 or an increase of 13.67%. This makes the inflation-adjusted increase in tax revenues from individuals for Bush a decrease of 4.42%.

So one President who used supply side economics saw an increase of 22.13% in individual tax revenue. However, Reagan raised taxes six times during his presidency, making him somewhat less of true supply-side proponent. Bush has remained steadfast in his “tax revenues pay for themselves” beliefs, with the result being an inflation-adjusted decrease in individual tax revenues for the duration of his presidency.

Neither Reagan nor Bush 43 has done anything to lower spending. Reagan increased discretionary spending from $307.9 billion to $488.8 billion, an inflation adjusted increase of 25.88%. Bush increased discretionary spending from $649 billion to $967 billion, for an inflation-adjusted increase of 35%.

Because the Republicans have failed to acknowledge the obvious – that their tax cuts haven’t paid for themselves and they haven’t lowered spending in any meaningful way – we have seen an explosion of US government debt under Reagan and Bush 43.

Here is a list of the results of 28 years (and counting) of disastrous and Insane Republican Economic Policies:

1. Maintaining nearly monopolistic control of the means to disseminate information (excepting the Internet)

2. Providing seductively alluring offers of “success” in the form of material wealth and trophy spouses

3. Dispensing immediate gratification via easy credit, pornography, and fast food

4. Devoting insane levels of financial and human resources to law enforcement and the military (creating a formidable means of employing physical force)

5. Manufacturing sufficient mass hysteria (first the threat was Communism and now it is “Terrorism”) to virtually eliminate civil liberties with little more than a whimper of objection from the populace

6. Deflecting responsibility to scapegoats like Muslims, Gays, and illegal immigrants

7. Promulgating a militaristic, commercialized form of Christianity via the mega churches of the Religious Right

8. Allowing corporations to set our government policy, write our laws, and bribe Congress with impunity

9. Wantonly deregulating corporations

10. Implementing numerous free trade agreements

11. Virtually eliminating the existence of organized labor

12. Dumbing down many of our children by bombarding them with rote learning to prepare for barrages of standardized tests (which seriously limits their capacity to think critically and independently)

13. Wal-Martizing the economy

14. Demanding higher productivity for lower wages and decreased benefits

15. Increasing the staggering number of people without health insurance

16. Widening the wealth and income chasms

17. Financially starving social programs

18. Creating incestuous relationships between the state and major corporations (as exemplified by the military-mass media complex) and in turn endowing their government with power approaching omnipotence

19. Waging perpetual wars

20. Indenturing the poor and working class to creditors by seriously weakening bankruptcy protection

21. Passing the Military Commissions Act and the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act

22. Creating and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction

23. Accelerating privatization around the globe (which is placing people at the mercy of ruthless corporations which sell them health care, education, utilities, fuel for their vehicles, and even drinking water)

24. Perpetuating an unjust mandatory income tax (enforced by a jack-booted IRS) on people who ultimately have no real say in how the money is used

25. Hijacking the vote in the United States for two consecutive presidential elections

Why Republican Economic Policy is Disastrous | The Agonist

Milton Lost: Can We Regain Paradise? By Jason Miller

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AMERICA LAND OF THE FREE HOME OF THE BRAVE--BECAUSE OF OUR CONSTITUTION.

Wow, looks like you hammered both parties over the last 80 years.

Can you name a single thing in the list above that Milton Friedman advocated or supported?

Milton Friedman advocated the following:
1) a negative income tax that automatically provided aid to those who earned less than a living wage, replacing a large list of disparate programs that limited individual choice by specifying the food to be bought, the slum to live in, the need to walk for miles to work because the government determined that cars were luxuries, etc.
2) taxes on all pollution that were related to the damage they caused which would drive polluters to switch to alternatives
3) providing aid in cash, instead of in coupons, vouchers, etc which restricted the purchases to things the the person didn't need.


As an example, consider someone who is poor in need of aid, who takes the effort to plant a garden and grow much of the food required, but given food stamps that can't be used to buy a car or gas to fill a car so they can travel to work, or drive to the stores where goods can be bought cheaper than in the neighborhood.

Food stamps and such are the method used because on the right, the view is that the poor need to be controlled by government, and on the left, because they wish to benefit farmers, or some similar logic.

I've seen a news story on a woman who was on welfare who grew a garden, shopped yard sales and good will, salvaged goods from the street on trash day, and lots of other things so that she could save her welfare money to buy a car so she could drive to work or school, or something like that. When the welfare case worker discovered she had been saving money by not spending it all, she took the moeny back, punishing her for her thrift and plans to get off welfare.

I didn't agree with Milton Friedman on everything he proposed, but largely because I beleived he was wrong on the facts, not because he was wrong on the methodology.

And the Republicans never paid any attention to what Friedman said.