March 18, 2012
Politicians don’t always say what they are thinking. Most of us know this fact. Unfortunately, the folks at the Washington Post don’t. In a major front page article on the budget negotiations last summer between President Obama and the Republican leadership the Post told readers:
“Another key caveat: Much of the $800 billion would have to come from overhauling the tax code — not from higher tax rates. The Republicans believed lower rates and a simpler code would generate new revenue by discouraging cheating and spurring economic growth.”
The Post actually has no clue what Republicans “believed.” It only knows what Republicans say.
Suppose for a moment that Republicans want to lower tax rates for the wealthy because they get large campaign contributions from wealthy people who want to see their tax rates go down. It is unlikely that Republicans would go around telling the public that they want to lower tax rates for the wealthy because wealthy people feel like paying less money in taxes.
They would need some alternative argument that might have appeal beyond the 1-2 percent of the public that benefits from lower tax rates. The claim that lower tax rates on the wealthy will lead to more growth, thereby benefiting everyone, is one such argument.
While it is possible that Republicans actually believe this claim, it is also possible that they are just saying it for political purposes and know it to be false or simply care whether or not it is true. It irresponsible for a newspaper to tell us that politicians’ statements actually reflect their view of the world when it has no basis whatsoever for this assertion.
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