It’s been a consistent rallying cry among conservatives for generations, but one prominent leftist seems to have gotten on board.
During a recent broadcast of ABC’s “The View,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg offered her take on what should be done to help struggling Americans.
According to Fox News:
“What you really need to be fighting for, is you need to be fighting for less taxes because before the tax laws changed people had a little extra in their pocket,” Goldberg said. “We need to change these tax laws because they’re full of boo.”
Of course, she also advocated for raising the minimum wage as high as $26 an hour.
As the nation inches closer toward a recession, though, there might be more progressives who believe the government should help people keep “a little extra in their pocket.”
Politicos and pundits on both sides of the aisle are bracing for a serious economic disaster.
I’m pretty sure a recession is near-certain at this point. Plan accordingly.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 22, 2022
Biden’s press secretary says “we don’t see a recession” happening soon.
They said the same thing about inflation.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/KimberlyNFoster/status/1528493085327605770
As Forbes explained in 2020, there is some confusion about what to do with taxes when the economy is down.
The recipe is simple. When the economy is struggling, you cut taxes; when it’s booming, you raise them. It’s basic Keynesian economics, right? Everyone knows the formula, even Larry Kudlow:
If John Maynard Keynes were here, after this pandemic contraction, and you asked him, “Mr. Keynes, should we be raising taxes?” I guarantee you, from the general theory, which I have read, he would say no. He would say no.
I’m glad to know that Kudlow has done the assigned reading — The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money is good background for any director of the White House National Economic Council. But Kudlow is exaggerating the Keynesian proscription against tax hikes during a recession.
To be sure, Keynes was generally inclined to cut taxes, rather than raise them, in the face of economic contractions; along with increased spending, that sort of expansionary fiscal policy was a good way to boost aggregate demand. But Keynes also argued — in various works, including The General Theory — that specific tax increases might also be used to speed recovery rather than slow it.
Joe Biden is willing to consider at least one tax cut as gas prices continue to skyrocket.
Here’s a clip of his remarks encouraging Congress to approve a federal gas tax holiday:
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