Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Duh

Larry Lindsey has suggested (echoing Newt) that it makes far more sense to actually cut marginal tax rates, rather than provide welfare payments disguised as tax cuts, to prime the national economic pump:

[For an amount of money equal to the proposed stimulus package], the government could essentially cut the payroll tax in half, taking three points off the rate for both the employer and the employee. This would put $1,500 into the pocket of a typical worker making $50,000, with a similar amount going to his or her employer. It would provide a powerful stimulus to the spending stream, as well as a significant, six percentage point reduction in the tax burden of employment for people making less than $100,000. The effects would be immediate.

Ahh. Larry. You poor, poor simpleton. Don't you realize that under your plan, people would be allowed to spend (or invest or save) their own money, rather than delegating that priviledge to the powermongers domiciled in Washington? That is not the point of this exercise, sir.