Fewer People Working Means Permanently Lower Tax

The Very First Email I Got [was] From A Women's Group Saying 'we Don't Want This Stimulus Package To Just Create Jobs For Burly Men.'

As An Economic Historian, I Appreciate What Manufacturing Has Contributed To The United States. It Was The Engine Of Growth That Allowed Us To Win Two World Wars And Provided Millions Of Families With A Ticket To The Middle Class. But Public Policy Needs To Go Beyond Sentiment And History.

If Every Other Store In Town Is Paying Workers $9 An Hour, One Offering $8 Will Find It Hard To Hire Anyone - Perhaps Not When Unemployment Is High, But Certainly In Normal Times. Robust Competition Is A Powerful Force Helping To Ensure That Workers Are Paid What They Contribute To Their Employers' Bottom Lines.

Tax Increases Appear To Have A Very Large Sustained And Highly Significant Negative Impact On Output.

Many Of My Students Assume That Government Protection Is The Only Thing Ensuring Decent Wages For Most American Workers. But Basic Economics Shows That Competition Between Employers For Workers Can Be Very Effective At Preventing Businesses From Misbehaving.