September 12, 2008
The Center for American Progress and the Economic Policy Institute co-hosted a forum entitled “Corporate and High Income Tax Cuts and the Economy: The Economics, History, and Public Debate of Supply-Side Policies,” which consisted of two panels. In the first panel, “The Economics of Supply-Side,” economists Lawrence Summers, Gene Sperling, and Jeffrey Frankel discussed the resounding denunciation of Supply-Side Economics (such as Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans in an attempt to stimulate the economy) by the majority of professionals in the field, both from its theoretical perspective and from evidence over the past 60 years. In the second panel, “The History and the Public’s View,” Jonathan Chait gave a synopsis of his new book, “The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics.” Anna Greenberg, a leading polling expert, discussed American opinions on various tax issues, pointing out that most think the wealthy and corporations pay too little in taxes, but many are also in favor of tax cuts in order to stimulate the economy.
