Raise taxes to cut spending?

January 2, 2012 1:56 PM

Recently I saw an article online in which a conservative argued that the battle to cut spending was unwinnable and that therefore the conservative strategy should be to raise taxes to the level required to maintain programs, the idea being that this is the only way to convince people that spending cuts are necessary. Help me find this article please.
posted by Jackson to Law & Government (3 answers total)

Best answer: I believe you may be referring to LIMITING GOVERNMENT: THE FAILURE OF “STARVE THE BEAST”, by William A. Niskanen of the CATO Institute.

There are three major problems with the starve-the-beast argument: (1) it is not a plausible economic theory; (2) it is inconsistent with the facts; and (3) it has diverted attention away from the political reforms needed to limit government growth.
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:51 PM on January 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Comrade_robot, this article is indeed very similar to the one I'm looking for in it's general argument, but isn't the one I read. The one I read was less 'scholarly' if you will - no graphs, etc. - and the conclusion was that conservatives should in fact be actively working to raise taxes in order to force the issue of living within one's means - i.e., you can have anything you want as long as you're willing to raise taxes to pay for it. I am definitely not a conservative, but I thought it was an intriguing argument that in a way is non-partisan. Thanks for your help.
posted by Jackson at 7:22 AM on January 3, 2012

Response by poster: Comrade robot. Using the 'starving the beast' phrase from the article you referenced, I just found the article I was looking for. Here it is. Thanks again.

http://breakthroughjournal.org/content/issues/issue-2/modernizing-conservatism.shtml
posted by Jackson at 7:25 AM on January 3, 2012