To the Editor,
On Sunday, March 24, The Boston Globe published an op-ed by Paul Krugman titled “Holy Voodoo Batman” in which he notes that the Trump tax cut boom has fizzled, and no one thinks that it had more than the most short-term effect on the American economy. Growth rates, for myriad reasons, are sliding down.
What I really liked was tht Krugman, a NYTimes columnist on economic issues, points out there has never been a clear demonstration that tax cuts for the wealthy or large corporations ever improve economic performance. I can provide three or four recent articles that affirm Krugman’s position and have the numbers to back it up.
So I repeat my question to those who make and implement economic development policy in Rhode Island: Why do you continue to rely on outdated policy that has been proven not to work as your economic development strategy? Is it because you do not have good information? Because it fits your ideological straitjacket? Or because powerful people with money to burn spend lots of money to push these failed policies simply because they think it benefits them and other wealthy folks and helps shut down democracy? It is time to get an economy for the 21st century in Rhode Island, and neoliberalism and business climate obsessions will never bring that to fruition.
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