Arthur Laffer: Big Government Is Stifling The American Spirit

In this video taken out a debate titled "Arthur Laffer: Big Government Is Stifling The American Spirit". Arthur Laffer (for the motion) repeats his well-known views that government intervention in everything from economic policy to health care is rewarding the "takers," and not the "makers," stifling innovators, entrepreneurs and business owners. Laffer argues against the current taxing system, the massive bail out of banks and other corporations, the increase in tax rates, the inflated defense budget over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the unparalleled debt incurred by Medicare, Medicaid and welfare payments.. And although as a self-proclaimed social democrat (not with a capital D and certainly not with a capital S) I disagree with some of his assertions, I cannot but admit that his points were the most intelligent, non-inflammatory and persuasive like always (if you haven't read his articles. You should).

With Americans losing their jobs and scrambling to save after declines in the real estate and stock markets, the can-do spirit that embodies the United States is not as pervasive as it has been in the past.
But to what degree does big government impact American optimism? On one side, people argue that those who are creating jobs are inherently wealthier and subject to higher income taxes.
But others argue that big government has helped rescue free-market capitalism. It helped create stimulus, which in turn saved the auto industry from bankruptcy and allowed financial institutions to take less risk.
A team of experts argued both sides of the motion "Big Government is Stifling the American Spirit" in a recent Intelligence Squared U.S. debate.

Arthur Laffer is the chairman of Laffer Associates and former Reagan economic adviser known as the father of supply-side economics. Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, an illustration of tax elasticity which asserts that, in certain situations, a decrease in tax rates could result in an increase in tax revenues.

To see the full debate: http://vimeo.com/16277447
NOTE: The debate is about 1 hour and 45 minutes but it's worth it.

Arthur Laffer's bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Laffer

The Laffer curve:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Big
• Government
• American
• United
• States
• economics
• capitalism
• income
• taxes
• tax
• rates
• debt
• GDP
• deficit
• bail
• out
• banks
• corporations
• defense
• budget
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• federal
• reserve
• fed
• supply-side
• Obama
• Bush
• Arthur
• Laffer
• Joniversity

[PostSurgeOperative]

Not buying it. For one thing, Laffer misleads on the issue of unemployment insurance. That program is paid into by ALL workers, including the person who gets the benefit; if you have never paid into the unemployment insurance pool, you do not receive the benefit, PERIOD. The world isn't made up of two farmers, and this is where his analogy fails the hardest.

'Big government' isn't stifling the American spirit; Republican talking points, and the liberal/progressive circular firing squad are.

[RealHarrySeaward]

His 2 farmers analogy makes no sense. First off how are unemployment benefits(aka insurance) any different than car insurance or any other insurance? And second you need more than two people for insurance to work anyway.

A group of people make regular small payments into an insurance pool in return for accident(or job loss) coverage. Most in the pool will never have an accident which means yes they are helping pay for another pool members accident, but that's the whole point of insurance!!!!

[fastfoodclowns]

Obama is promoting a Zero-Sum Gain as "stimulus and growth" no brain, no intelligence.

[fastfoodclowns]

It's economics, grow a brain !!!! stupid Liberals.

[Bugs11000]

@fastfoodclowns When I see clowns like retard Lafleur that talk about the economy as if they know it all I truly find this sad. This retard was saying, a couple of years ago that the economy would prosper again. Cmon, you truly beleive this moron? Hey, I'm just a trucker and I know that this economy is going to fail. Christ! It does'nt take a harvard diploma to see what's coming. I'd do better than this jerk. Listen to Peter Schiff, all of what he predicted came true.

[fastfoodclowns]

No Farms. No Food. Laffer is CORRECT !!!!

[fastfoodclowns]

@Nasiruddin84 <==== there is a solution! Get a job. Get off the dole, get off food stamps, get off Section 8, do something with your life except whine about "injustice."

[fastfoodclowns]

@Bugs11000 <========you can't refute him, so you call him derogatory names. How typical and sad.

[fastfoodclowns]

@PostSurgeOperative <------you don't believe in freedom of speech, then? How pathetic of you.

[Bugs11000]

Ca'nt beleive that this guy, retard Lafleur is in economics. Look at the video,'' Peter Schiff vs Arthur Lafleur''. Retard Lafleur was saing that the economy would prosper while Peter Schiff was saying that we were going into a recession. How come we have retards like this guy that are in charge of anything?

[GSW12345]

Hard to listen to this guy he just isnt a very good speaker

[kareltjekreuk]

@PostSurgeOperative One thing, he is talking about benefits. Benefits are not insurance, thus not paid for in a way of an insurance. A benefit is simply a payment from the government to a citizen based on certain characteristics of that citizen, in this case unemployment. A benefit thus is taken from the "tax-jar" that indeed the other farmer, in Laffer's example, will have to pay 100% since the other farmer does not have an income. Insurance is very, again very, different from a benefit.