The Poster Boy For Liberal Economics Discovers The Tax Factor
James Picerno | Nov 21, 2014 06:48AM ET
Paul Krugman seems to be having a supply-side-economics moment… sort of. Raising taxes, the NY Times columnist and Nobel laureate has been arguing lately, threatens Japan’s fragile economic recovery. “Shinzo Abe is doing the right thing, seeking to delay the next rise in consumption taxes,” Krugman reports , Krugman convinced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay a tax hike in Japan that was previously scheduled for next April… and in the course of just one limo ride! One might wonder if the outcome would have been different if Krugman had taken the bus on his way to meet the prime minister.
In any case, postponing taxes isn’t the same thing as cutting taxes, of course, and so no one will confuse Krugman’s latest stance with the likes oftenuous at best. Nonetheless, it makes perfect sense that a vocal opponent of austerity is keen on keeping macro burdens to a minimum in a period of sluggish growth around the world. Lower taxes, after all, are part and parcel of fiscal stimulus, which is at the core of the Keynesian perspective that Krugman admires so much.
Still, it’s slightly unusual to find that the dismal scientist at the center of the liberal orthodoxy is asserting that raising taxes can be harmful for economic growth. It seems that “Voodo Economics” may not be witchcraft after all.
If this policy isn’t strictly taboo for Japan, does that mean that Krugman’s latest recommendation has application at home? The US has been described in recent years as suffering from a degree of the malaise that afflicts Japan. Does Krugman’s updated views on taxes mean that he might switch his pitch for US policy? Perhaps he’ll enlighten us in his next column (or during a limo ride with President Obama).
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