Herman Cain and the Deficit

Hot on the heels of Bruce Bartletts admission that cutting tax rates does not automatically lead to more revenue is Herman Cain who says, well, that cutting tax rates does automatically lead to more revenue.

The other lie liberals perpetually tell is that low tax rates cause budget deficits. History proves just the opposite – that cuts in income, capital gains and dividends tax rates increase the amount of federal revenues available for Congress to spend. The only thing that can cause a budget deficit is when Congress spends in excess of available revenues, and the president at the time signs off on that spending. Members of Congress who blame tax cuts for causing deficits might as well argue that gun manufacturers cause homicides, fast food restaurants cause obesity and cigarette makers cause lung cancer. Surely no one would agree with that flawed logic.

A little bit of a slight of hand here. Cain distracts you from noting the lack of revenues by pointing to how much we spend. I'm not going to disagree that the Republicans in Congress are spending too much. But surely Americans are sharp enough to note that there are two sides to this equation. If we are going to return to the fiscal discipline and low deficits of the Clinton Era, we will have to cut spending and increase revenue. And to pretend you can get around that (while calling your political enemies liars, no less), well, it strikes me as irresponsible.