Starve The Beast is a GOP Myth
As the GOP pushes ahead with their tax plan, clearing both Houses in Congress, we seem to be going down a familiar, yet dangerous path. There are two economic ideas that have come to dominate Republican economic policy. They are that tax cuts pay for themselves and that the theory of “starve the beast” actually works. The “starve the beast” theory states that by lowering taxes, this forcefully reduces spending, as there is less revenue coming in. If anyone follows Bruce Bartlett, former economic advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, it is easy to see how starving the beast does not work and leads to higher spending. The truth of the matter is that neither one of these ideas have worked. In fact, a recent study done by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), has found that lowering tax rates on the top 2 percent does not spur any kind of economic growth. To add to that point, just looking back on history will also demonstrate that tax cuts do not pay for thems