Sophistry Triumphant

No one would ever accuse The New Republic of publishing clear factual analysis, but the new piece in that "magazine" by John Judis takes the cake for distortion and misinformation. Judis explains in his article why tax increases on the wealthy will accelerate economic growth. I started to laugh as I read the nonsense that this "reporter" put out as fact, but then I realized that there are millions on the left who believe this stuff. Sophistry has triumphed with these people.

First, let me clear up any confusion. Sucking a trillion dollars or more out of the private sector and pumping it into government will not promote economic growth. Quite the contrary is true; growth will slow. No one knows exactly how great the effect of the tax increases will be, but there is no question the direction of the effect on the economy.

Second, the point of Judis' article is that if the money taken from the wealthy is then sent back to the middle and lower income folks, the economy will be helped. This is an unsupported proposition, but it also ignores the basic facts about the current dispute. The point of raising taxes is not to fund new spending, no matter what Judis wants. The goal is to reduce the federal deficit to a point which is sustainable by the American economy. Republicans in the House may cave in and agree to higher revenue for the federal government. They will never agree to use all that revenue for additional spending.