Supply-side tax cutters in the fantasy land of Oz

Supply-side tax cutters in the fantasy land of Oz: "Two years ago Kansas embarked on a remarkable fiscal experiment: It slashed income taxes sharply without any clear idea of what would replace the lost revenue.
Sam Brownback, the governor, proposed the legislation – in percentage terms, the largest tax cut in one year any state has ever enacted – in close consultation with the economist Arthur Laffer. And Brownback predicted that the cuts would jump-start an economic boom. “Look out, Texas,” he proclaimed.
But Kansas isn’t booming. In fact, its economy is lagging both neighbouring states and America as a whole. Meanwhile, the state’s budget has plunged deep into deficit, provoking a Moody’s downgrade of its debt.
There’s an important lesson here – but it’s not what you think. Yes, the Kansas debacle shows that tax cuts don’t have magical powers, but we already knew that. The real lesson from Kansas is the enduring power of bad ideas, as long as those ideas serve the interests of the right people."



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