Dog bites man... - The Gormogons

This is a bit of a non-news-item, but it is worth mentioning. Art Laffer, supply-side economist, Reagan Administration economic adviser, and all-around great guy wrote an article in the WSJ endorsing Newt Gingrich’s tax plan.

Dr. Laffer is an economist, and if he is going to support a candidate it isn’t going to be regarding his or her position on gay marriage, a moon base, or even development of a 6th generation Fighter Jet. It is going to be with regard to which candidate has the most robust plan to stimulate the economy.

If Dr. Laffer was writing an endorsement for his country club newsletter, despite Mitt’s tea-totaling status, Dr. J. would suspect that Dr. Laffer would much rather sink into a leather chair, across from the fireplace and make gentle conversation with Mitt over Newt. But, he is not making such an endorsement. He is endorsing a plan for stimulating the economy. Back in the day, this was how a party created its platform, planks would be adopted during the convention. Now the convention is a big PR gig.

Mr. Gingrich’s plan is really simple:

1) Keep the current income tax rates, with an optional 15% flat tax alternative.

2) 12.5% corporate tax.

Dr. Laffer likes this plan because countries with low tax rates that do not have an expiration date do really well. He sites Hong King and Ireland as examples.

He likes it better than Mitt’s plan which cuts the corporate tax only to 25%, and freezing current rates and eliminating the death tax, because they do not go far enough, although making these rates permanent is a step in the right direction.

He also likes the plan because it is so simple that it cuts out the cost of compliance, something he talked about last spring.

Dr. Laffer writes:

Jobs and wealth are created by those who are taxed, not by those who do the taxing. Government, by its very nature, doesn’t create resources but redistributes resources. To minimize the damages taxes cause the economy, the best way for government to raise revenue is a broad-based, low-rate flat tax that provides people and businesses with the fewest incentives to avoid or otherwise not report taxable income, and the least number of places where they can escape taxation.

In other words, the best tax plan is to keep it simple and keep it low. Gingrich’s plan does that, and for that, he has Dr. J.’s support for that plank of his platform. Dr. J. has yet to make his endorsement.

Now go read the rest here, doctor’s orders…

Dr. J.