The U.S. economy

**geerussell** · 02-20-2011 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Wilfredo Ledezma

Laffer curve is gospel.

Once you find gospel there's still the thorny issue of how to interpret it.

Now, this is not to deny that Laffer curves exist. No doubt, there is a point at which higher taxes would be counter-productive and tax cuts would pay for themselves. ... But where is the hard evidence that, at tax rates around current levels, there are such effects?

**Tahoe** · 02-22-2011 07:46 PM

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/22/...lling-permits/

**Tahoe** · 02-25-2011 09:48 PM

CBO reports that the Federal Gov't spent $228,055.00 on an average of each job created or saved.

I haven't dug into it yet but thats some fucked up shit.

**Uncle Mxy** · 02-26-2011 11:49 AM

Here's the actual report: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/120xx/doc...02-23-ARRA.pdf

I'd argue the margin for error in that report is ridiculously high because they can't give anything other than a silly wild-ass guess (SWAG) at how many jobs were created/saved whatever. Also, it's unclear whether they count "lowering taxes" (which is a third of what the stimulus did) in that equation.

**Uncle Mxy** · 03-10-2011 02:32 PM

Fuck the kids. They don't vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030602924.html

**Uncle Mxy** · 03-16-2011 01:30 PM

http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/20...rican-economy/

**geerussell** · 04-03-2011 11:03 AM

Too Big To Jail

At the height of the 2008 banking crisis, Antonio Maria Costa, then head of the United Nations office on drugs and crime, said he had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs and crime were “the only liquid investment capital” available to banks on the brink of collapse. “Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade,” he said. “There were signs that some banks were rescued that way.”…

[Paul] Mazur [lead infiltrator of the Medellin drug operation] said that “a lot of the law enforcement people were disappointed to see a settlement” between the administration and Wachovia. “But I know there were external circumstances that worked to Wachovia’s benefit, not least that the US banking system was on the edge of collapse.”