Guest AuthorIt’s as simple as 1+1=2. Every kindergartener knows that if you want more of something, you have to add to it, not subtract from it. Every farmer knows that if he wants a bigger harvest, he has to sow more seed.
Not so Republicans. Since 1981, when Arthur Laffer duped Ronald Reagan into believing “supply-side” economic folderol — that if you lower taxes you can generate more revenue — they have defied the laws of arithmetic, not to mention farming, common sense, and morality.
But of course they couldn’t resist! The laughable “Laffer Curve” also gave them the vote-getting (cynical, disproven) cover for “trickle-down” economics — that when the rich pay less in taxes, they reinvest their windfall, creating jobs and wealth for the hoi polloi. Truth is: Trickle down is to people as dog is to fire hydrant.
So, for decades, America has suffered from a love-fest for the richest rich — and hot-air promises for the poor and middle class. And, even though Republican economic policies have failed the nation as a whole, proponents have blamed Democrats, primarily for not cutting spending.
Finally, in 2010 ideology met opportunity with a vengeance. Former U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback was elected Kansas governor during the Tea-Party frenzy. With a GOP super-majority in the state legislature, he had carte blanche to wave the magic wand of the Republican economic agenda — and guarantee “prosperity for all.”
Brownback immediately cut taxes for the rich, amounting to a drastic revenue loss of about $8 billion. But that was nothing. His plan called for eventually eliminating the state income tax altogether (a benefit for the rich), but effectively increasing the sales tax (a sock-it-to-the-poor), not to mention goody giveaways for corporations
It’s as simple as 0+0=<0.
Every sane, public policymaker knows that if you continue to starve an economy of essential investment, eventually you go into deficit — which is exactly what happened in Kansas. Job growth is down. Funding for schools, colleges and universities, and social services has been gutted. The state’s bond rating has been cut. Revenue projections continue to bleed red.
Things have gotten so bad for the governor that more than 100 mainstream Republicans (business-types, not social ideologues) are now backing his likely Democratic rival in November. And, barring any help from the Wizard of Oz, Brownback’s personal goal of leveraging his promised success in Kansas into the Oval Office ain’t gonna happen.
Some people never learn, however — including voters. If Gov. Rick Scott is re-elected, he will make Florida into a bigger economic failure than Brownback’s Kansas. In recent months, he’s tried to project a “kinder, gentler” Rick, spending tax dollars like a Democrat to get voters to forget his previous draconian budget cuts.
But, Floridians need to heed my father’s warning, “The leopard doesn’t change its spots.” Scott’s first major business venture was selling donuts, a product with nothing in the middle. No wonder there’s a big hole in Scott’s economic policies. After four years of empty promises, he’s consistently shafted the middle-class and the poor, but gave tax breaks to corporations and the rich. If he can dupe voters into giving him four more years, he’ll take it as a mandate and really let it rip — them off.
Will enough Republicans nationwide and in Florida follow the lead of enlightened Kansans? And will enough Americans finally understand that to preserve and enhance the social fabric, not to mention a thriving economy, the only success formula is 1+1=3.
The whole is greater than the parts, and everyone profits when they understand that they have to pay their fair share.
Stephen L. Goldstein is the author of “The Dictionary of American Political Bullshit” and “Atlas Drugged: Ayn Rand Be Damned.” He lives in Fort Lauderdale. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
