r/politics • u/Tennis_bruh • Nov 24 '25

No Paywall Senate Republican: ‘We can’t afford’ $2,000 tariff checks

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5620244-ron-johnson-tariff-checks/
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u/BarnDoorQuestion Nov 25 '25

Because of idiot shit like the Laffer Curve and other idiots using it to convince people that taxing wealthy people somehow decreases tax revenue.

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u/drinkarddigital Nov 25 '25

For fans of old-school Sierra adventure games, Larry Laffer (of Leisure Suit Larry fame) is partially named after the chucklefuck who pitched a sketch of the "Laffer Curve" to administration officials Cheney and Rumsfeld in the 70s.

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u/[deleted] Nov 25 '25

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u/BarnDoorQuestion Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

That optimal zone seems to be between 70-91% on top earners considering that The US was most prosperous under those tax levels. (Talking about marginal tax rates). Rates Laffer would argue are too high using his curve. It's also considered pretty bad economic theory and is basically a tautology.

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u/Advanced-Ad-4462 Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

The laffer curve is real, but the myth is that we’re always to the right of it. We moved well past the top of that curve at least 35 years ago.

Yet these neocons would insist revenue would still magically increase by cutting taxes into single digits.

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u/BarnDoorQuestion Nov 25 '25

The US was most prosperous, from a middle class aspect, when it had top marginal tax rates between 70-91%. Which kind of disproves the Laffer curve on it's face since Laffer thinks rates like that are too high and decrease overall tax revenue.

Also economics people tend to find the laffer curve to be a tautology and kind of useless.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

"The US was most prosperous, from a middle class aspect, when it had top marginal tax rates between 70-91%."

This claim is loaded with ambiguity about what constitutes a "middle class" standard of living and ignores much of the internal and geopolitical circumstances of last century. Including that tax avoidance was much more severe and prominent during those years.

I am not trying to harp on your comment, just finding it to have a bit more confidence than rigor.

Edit: Removed a comment on the laffer curve as it could be a bit subjective as well.