NY Times' Krugman argues 'Zombie Reaganomics' still 'eating Republican brains' though tax cuts don't work
Krugman says GOP still running on tax cuts in order to convince billionaires to vote for them
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman argued that "Zombie Reaganomics" – namely cutting of government spending and providing tax cuts to Americans – still "rules the G.O.P" even though it doesn’t work.
Krugman claimed that though "Reaganomics," and now MAGA economic policy, haven’t produced "higher wages and faster economic growth," these ideas are still "eating Republican brains."
Despite President Biden running the country during what is traditionally defined as a recession and 40-year-high inflation, Krugman tore into the Republican economic plan that is laid out it the party’s midterm platform, its "Commitment to America."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argued that the GOP is running on dead economic policy he calls "zombie Reaganomics." (Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images))
As Krugman wrote, "If you squint hard at the economics section of the Commitment to America, however, you can see the faint outlines of a familiar set of ideas — zombie Reaganomics."
This prompted the columnist to ask, "Why are deregulation, benefit cuts and tax breaks for the rich still the ruling ideology of a party that now claims to stand for the working class?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Krugman stated that the commitment’s economic plan "calls for ‘pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies.’ No specifics, but this is clearly a call for zombie Reaganomics."
He explained why the pejorative "Zombie" is attached to this economic philosophy, writing, "Why ‘zombie’? Because we now have four decades’ worth of experience showing that deregulation and tax cuts for the rich do not, in fact, produce higher wages and faster economic growth."
He added, "So the idea that tax cuts are the secret of prosperity should be dead, yet somehow it’s still shambling along, eating Republican brains."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks about Republicans' "Commitment to America" agenda at DMI Companies in Monongahela, Pa., Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Krugman subsequently asked, "Why is the G.O.P. still committed to a failed economic ideology?" He explained that with "rise of MAGA," in which "catering to bigotry is no longer a marketing device" but the party’s "main agenda," Republicans may be using "plutocrat-friendly policies" as a way of "keeping wealthy donors and corporations on board, even if many of them are uncomfortable with the right-wing social agenda."
According to the columnist, this would explain why Republican leaders are not adding "some actual populism to the mix." Illustrating this point, Krugman asked, "Why did Representative Kevin McCarthy, who will likely become speaker if Republicans take the House, declare that his first bill would be one to repeal additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service, allowing wealthy tax cheats to breathe easy?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Paul Krugman's latest column bashed the economic policy in the GOP's midterm elections platform. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for the New York Times)