Charting the Rise of Stupidity - Page 3
Even “Starve the Beast,” the conservative economic theory that is directly responsible for today’s massive deficits had its roots in the Reagan White House. ” The label, coined to describe a cut revenues and let the rest sort itself out approach was first attributed to an unnamed White House staffer by The Wall Street Journal. Reagan put it this way, “Well, if you've got a kid that's extravagant, you can lecture him all you want to about his extravagance. Or you can cut his allowance and achieve the same end much quicker. What Reagan didn’t anticipate and what George W. Bush was too simple to realize, is that people still expect a return on their investment in government no matter how little taxes they pay. This is especially true of the people who bought your presidency for you. Starve the Beast became Wimpynomics: I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today…
Now we are poised to watch the entire Republican Party double down on a legacy of cultural, social and governance failure, even though it has already wrecked our economy, poisoned our civic life, tried to exclude our fastest growing minorities and driven a massive political wedge between some Americans and other Americans. And because Republicans have been concurrently promoting dumbness, Americans as a whole may no longer be smart enough to stop it.
Next: How one Supreme Court ruling forever changed what our children learn about free speech.
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