Clearing the Tabs 5-18-2018

Some things I've read this week or will be reading over the weekend.

May 12
‘What If?’ History that could’ve been

May 13
The Left-Wing Plot to Repeal the Trump Tax Cuts

Recycling, Once Embraced by Businesses and Environmentalists, Now Under Siege
Local officials raise fees and send recyclables to landfills as economics erode

May 15
The Injustices Of Keynesianism

Brian Domitrovic is worth reading every times he writes.

Why is the Farm Bill subsidizing wealthy and financially secure agribusinesses?

How Mentorship Is Healing Social Poverty in Richmond, VA

May 16
Trump has already made real progress in controlling prescription drug costs

The Top 14 Causes of Political Polarization
Why we can’t stand each other, explained.

May 17
Tom Wolfe Wrote Two Essential Pieces About The American Economy

Another piece from Brian Domitrovic this week, it's like Christmas.

May 18
Let college football players major in football. NFL or not, they'll get jobs.

How tax reform brings opportunity to poor neighborhoods

As Goes The Suburbs, So Goes The Nation?

Joel Kotkin insights are always worth your time and study.

Mike Pence's Commencement Address at Hillsdale College

My Letter to the Editor

Someone named Ed Hirs wrote an editorial in the Houston Chronicle that I happened to see. Mr. Hirs seemed to be talking about a subject that he is not familiar with. I wrote the following letter to the editor. I would assume it will not be published, so in order for it to see the light of day, I'm posting it here. I am also including the offending editorial for you to enjoy.

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Dear Editor,

Professor Ed Hirs in his May 23 editorial "Trump 'trickle-down' tax plan would be a failure for Texas" makes several glaring assertions that just are not true. Prof. Hirs says that President Reagan's plan did not work in the 1980s, while every available policy metric solidly refutes that. And to go further, the same tax cut plan worked under President Coolidge in the 1920s and under President Kennedy via Lyndon Johnson (the tax plan had been pushed by Kennedy, after his death, Johnson got the bill passed). Tax rates came down, the economy grew and people went back to work, every time.

Professor Hirs would do well to look at the writing of fellow Houstonian, Professor Brian Domitrovic, who has chronicled the history of not only supply-side economics, but also a recent detailed history of the successful supply-side tax cuts of JFK in 1963-1964.

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