Laffer Op-ed a Must Read

Liz | 09/12 at 08:01 AM

There is an excellent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today by Arthur Laffer. Mr. Laffer, author of the “Laffer Curve”  which suggests that lower taxes stimulate growth, has been ridiculed for years by liberals who believe that the government is the most reliable source of expansion, innovation and progress. His piece today lays out once again the fallacy of the “government knows best” approach but also does something much more important: he develops a construct for tackling one of our country’s most dire problem – the financial collapse of the African-American community. That unemployment among American black youths is now approaching 50% is barely mentioned in polite circles, or inside the Beltway. Somehow our political leaders expect this problem to correct itself, though there is every indication that prolonged unemployment – in combination with inadequate education—is a cancer, leading to failed lives, increased rates of incarceration and ultimately a rising burden on our society.

 Mr. Laffer suggests the creation of “enterprise zones” in our poorest communities (not all of which are in urban areas), which would enjoy numerous economic incentives for companies that hire and produce within those borders. Such zones have been employed to great effect in some underdeveloped countries; their use in our country would seem to be an excellent, potentially revitalizing idea. We have posted his piece on this website under “Required Reading”; I heartily recommend it. 

One of the most discouraging aspects of Mr. Obama’s Jobs speech was its lack of any imaginative solutions. With all the weeks that went into its creation, one might have hoped for more. (As I wrote in a recent column for Fox, perhaps the most depressing aspect of the speech was that it was Mr. Obama’s feistiness and sarcasm that gained him the best reviews. What ever happened to the candidate that was going to bring the country together?) It seems as though the creative juices in the White House are preserved for campaigning, not for governing. No wonder that the speech sounded canned.

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