Are you aware that deficit spending absolutely requires “increases in future taxes”? There is simply no question about this, and I see other blogs repeating the mantra incessantly. After all, Milton Friedman said “To spend is to tax.”
Strange thing, though: I never see any elaboration. Not only that, but I think I know why. I strongly suspect it’s because they don’t want the conversation to go where elaboration would lead them.
If I’m right about that, then there’s a perfect word to describe the tactic: Sophistry. I looked it up just to be sure, and here’s the definition:
sophistry: a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.
I built the following graphic to illustrate the point. Because I’ve been blogging about the importance of economic growth for almost two years, it should be obvious why I wanted to expose this subtle deception. Please note that in both cases, taxes are increasing each year by exactly the same amount.
Growth, and what we might do to enhance it, has been getting short shrift in the national debate. I hope it will have a better chance of getting more mindshare if we continue exposing deceptive tactics such as this.
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Update:
Good question from a reader: Why did I show all the "?" instead of the numbers? Answer: The listener's mental model for "tax receipts" typically does not already include the tax "base" (GDP). If the speaker doesn't introduce it, that listener's mental model won't include it. These tables depict what the listener envisions.
Thanks to Michael for catching that.
