This morning in Manchester, New Hampshire (the site of tonight's second Republican presidential debate), Tim Pawlenty made his economic pitch against the Obama administration, arguing for greater tax cuts and smaller government. Slate's Dave Weigel attended the vent and afterwards asked the former Minnesota governor about his weekend claim that tax cuts "always produce an increase in revenue." Here's how Pawlenty elaborated on his previous remarks:
When Ronald Reagan cut taxes in a significant way," said Pawlenty, "revenues actually increased by almost 100 percent during his eight years as president. So this idea that significant, big tax cuts necessarily result in lower revenues -- history does not [bear] that out."
Actually, history is very clear on the relationship between tax cuts and revenues; the more you cut taxes, the less money there is for the federal government:
In his quest for the Republican nomination, Pawlenty has completely embraced the Gospel of Supply-Side Jesus. Unfortunately for him, it isn't helping much in the polls.
