Bruce Bartlett on tax policy

Testimony before the senate budget committee, May 2023

Bruce Bartlett was formerly a prominent Republican economist deeply involved in tax policy; he is now an independent. For some years he has thought that Republicans are guilty of one-size-fits-all economics; reflexively proposing tax cuts as the all-purpose cure for whatever economic problem arises. While Bartlett believes that the 1981 tax cut, which he helped draft as a member of Rep. Jack Kemp’s staff in 1977, was appropriate for the time, circumstances have changed and different policies are needed. Bartlett believes that the tax cuts of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations were ineffective, economically, and added considerably to the deficit and the debt. Since they had little positive economic effect, then logically there would be little negative effect from repealing them.

Media

What drives 

news coverage?

I’m not saying that there’s some kind of conspiracy to actively hide covid stories or other big stories. It’s just the way the mass media works.

A press release gets written for a client, it gets sent out to a big list of journalists, the PR agent then phones around the journalists in whatever sector they’re working in to try and get them to look at the story, offering interviews with the key players. Most stories you see in the headlines are the result of a PR agency. I would say >95% of all stories you read start as a press release. And depending on the news, the PR agent might not send out a release en-masse but “sell in” the story as an exclusive to just one outlet. I don’t know if the press release-origin for most of our news is a dirty little secret or widely known due to the aforementioned media savvy-ness of people, but it’s how it goes.

…

So how does this relate to covid? Well, covid doesn’t have a PR agency, and most studies are coming out of niche research labs or universities that have very limited or non-existent PR teams/agency support. And even when it’s coming out of a big university, the media teams at these unis are spread thin and often don’t see the humdrum science research as something to prioritise when it comes to media. It doesn’t raise money, it’s not that sexy etc. Unless it’s a breakthrough piece of research, you’re unlikely to see it. 

Make N95 and elastomeric masks fashion items

Masking as a  positive social activity 

Theological economics

Market fundamentalism

markets are just one among many social means of rationing. Anything scarce relative to demand for it raises the same question: Who will get it and who must do without it? The market is one institutional way to ration the scarce item. In a market, those who want it bid up its price leading others to drop out because they cannot or will not pay the higher price. When higher prices have eliminated the excess of demand over supply, scarcity is gone, and no more bidding up is required. Those able and willing to pay the higher prices are satisfied by receiving distributions of the available supply.

The market has thus rationed out the scarce supply. It has determined who gets and who does not. Clearly, the richer a buyer is, the more likely that buyer will welcome, endorse, and celebrate “the market system.” Markets favor rich buyers. Such buyers in turn will more likely support teachers, clerics, politicians, and others who promote arguments that markets are “efficient,” “socially positive,” or “best for everyone.”

Yet even the economics profession—which routinely celebrates markets—includes a sizable—if underemphasized—literature about how, why, and when free (i.e., unregulated) markets do not work efficiently or in socially positive ways. That literature has developed concepts like “imperfect competition,” “market distortions,” and “externalities,” to pinpoint markets failing to be efficient or benefit social welfare.

Brain fog

From COVID 

Mechanisms 

are understood

and progress is being made re 

Long COVID

Using ADA for COVID mitigation

From the 

People’s CDC meeting

Vaccine conference notes

Engagement   and lack of engagement with vaccine skepticism