Steven Greenhut Says Job Growth Is Good News, Tax Hikes Are Bad News
Most debates about tax policy suggest a widespread understanding of Winston Churchill's quip that "for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." Even the advocates for tax increases usually claim such hikes are needed to pay for the level of government spending that they propose or that higher taxes promote income equality, but they rarely doubt that increasing the burden on job creators leads to fewer created jobs. But following some welcome news showing a healthier, recovering California economy, some economists and pundits are making the case that Churchill has been debunked. They aren't just saying that recent tax increases haven't been that bad for growth — but that the taxes may sometimes be the cause of it. Steven Greenhut says that even if it's true (and it's not), it's not a particularly moral argument.