Every once in a while, I get a masochistic streak and flip over to BlueNC — you know, the ad hominem factory operated by lefty activists who prefer cartoons to substance. I was shocked to see this post titled "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words", (with a picture evidently picked up by one of the least thoughtful liberal thinkers in DC (Ezra Klein)). Here’s the pic, making the case for the small government community:
Now, when leftish types see this picture, they think "raise taxes." But this is precisely the problem with their economic worldview. It’s zero-sum thinking. It’s a static view of federal spending and the complicated relationship between revenues, the economy, and said spending.
On the other hand, when a small-government type sees this chart, we think: "Medicaid is swollen beyond all proportions and the demographics of that system will result in budgetary meltdown. It’s time to reform it." We think: "Medicaid is going to send us over a cliff" (And look at how small defense spending is relative to the others, yet the left blames deficits on military spending.) Put it like this: when someone in your family goes on a shopping spree, spending more than you take it, the first thing you do is stop the spree… And when it comes to the federal budget and the economy, you cut spending; YOU DO NOT RAISE TAXES. How many times do we have to make this Laffer Curve argument? (Somehow I gather the complex nuances of economics would fry the neural circuitry of the average lefty cartoon blogger, however.) –MB
Leave a Comment