What is voodoo economics

The rich have their own, fairly obvious reasons for championing voodoo economics. They are pleased to assist in the fiction that cutting their taxes will encourage them to invest more. Instead of higher growth, public debt skyrocketed. Supply-side economics did not work out quite as planned for then US president Ronald Reagan. AP Photo. The voodoo element of his economic policy was cheered on by Republicans, with the conservative Heritage Foundation even predicting that the cuts would eliminate the national debt within a decade.

And yet there continues to be a deep and abiding belief in a theory known as the "Laffer curve". It was a more sophisticated rendering of the idea of "a magic money tree", the dismissive phrase employed years later by former British prime minister Theresa May. Never mind the rich — why do middle-class and poor people consistently fail to challenge the seductive appeal of the Laffer curve or the hallucinatory quality of voodoo economics? It may revolve around the way the idea of paying taxes is framed.

Bush in to describe Ronald Reagan's economic policies. Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics. Nominate this object for photography. See our privacy policy. Collections Search Search for Show only items with images. Show only items with no use restrictions. Sign up for Monthly E-newsletter. Important Voodoo economics has since become a popular, widely-used phrase to dismiss ambitious economic pledges made by politicians.

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Related Terms Reaganomics Reaganomics is a popular term referring to the economic policies of President Ronald Reagan. Read how Reaganomics impacted spending, regulations, and taxes. What Is Clintonomics?

Clintonomics refers to the economic philosophy and policies promulgated by President Bill Clinton, who was president of the U. Who Is Alan Greenspan? Alan Greenspan was the 13th chair of the Federal Reserve, appointed to an unprecedented five consecutive terms between mid and early What Does Obamanomics Mean? Obamanomics describes the economic policies of the administration of former President Barack Obama. Supply-Side Theory The supply-side theory holds that economic growth is stimulated through fiscal policies designed to increase the supply of goods and services.

Partner Links. Related Articles. Fiscal Policy The 5 Poorest U. National Debt Explained: History and Costs. At a lower tax rate people do work and pay taxes. Is that going to make you work so much harder that you more than double your income. If you could, you already would have. So no, you will just happily take home triple what you did before, and maybe even work less. For them, supply-side says if you cut their tax rate, they will pay less tax.

It sounded soooooo good. Supply-side economics is dishonest. So the plan was to cut tax rates for the rich in half, which they did. To get this through they had to cut taxes for the middle class some too, but they counted on inflation pushing the middle class back into higher tax brackets. But cutting the top bracket had a permanent effect because there is no higher bracket to get pushed into.

So not only was cutting taxes to raise money crazy, it was just a deception to cut taxes for the richest and then use the deficits to force cuts in services for the middle class and the poor.

The Republicans have almost all gone over to the supply side now, and many, like Reagan, have been brainwashed into believing it. This will be the largest debt reduction ever achieved by any nation at any time. There are a lot of lies in circulation. Blaming the Democrats for the debt is just one of them. See some others in this little slide show. But did you know:.