The Robitussin of Republican Economic Policy

Tonight after screenwriting class, I was seduced by free food at an on-campus caucus. I still do not fully understand what was supposed to occur at this event - the undergrad girl at the door seemed more interested in checking out cute Republican guys than being able to explain to me what the event WAS. In any case, it seemed students speaking on behalf of presidential candidates were put in charge of voicing the positions of each of the candidates. When I first sat down, cheesecake in hand, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out which candidate the student was speaking for. (Chuck would love this)

Finally, it became clear, only through democrat-bashing, that the student was speaking on behalf of Bush. I couldn't stay long because I owed a couple phone calls and needed to meet my editor to start editing the Math Tutor, but one student asked the brilliant question I've been waiting for a Republican to answer for the past 15 years: "Why do you justify tax cuts when we have a budget surplus by giving back money to the people and at the same time justify tax cuts as an economic stimulus when the economy is down?" Perfect. It's completely true. Republican fiscal policy, as far as I can tell, is cut taxes. That's it. The rest, all the supply side garbage they try to sell, is merely justification. (It's not that I doubt supply side as a theory, I just don't think the theory is why the Republican party favors the policy - it is because they can sell tax cuts easily to the public). He of course, couldn't answer the question, except with the regular responses - it stimulates the economy, and so on. Right.

Tax cuts are the Robitussin of Republican fiscal policy.