This is a representation of the Laffer Curve, sacred idea to every supply-side economist. Their idea is that taxes after some mystical point become a drag on the economy and actually inhibit the collection of tax revenue by limiting growth. As you can see on the above example, plotting points on this curve is more of an art form--somewhat akin to seeing an archer in the nighttime sky--than it is a science.
After reading Mark Buchanan's post and agreeing with him on it, and having artistic proclivities, I have taken the liberty of reconnecting the dots. I have named the result The Wholeflaffer Curve after Art Wholeflaffer, a character from The Firesign Theatre's Everything You Know Is Wrong, and renowned for being the best damned nudist trailer park manager in the Southwest.
It actually looks more like the Outer Banks of North Carolina than a curve to me, but let's see what you think:
4 comments:
okay tom lehner and now firesign theater...I'm thinking separated at birth! are you my missing twin????
I don't mean to brag--much--but Phil austin is actually an Internet acquaintance of mine. You can read a nine-part series I did about my lightning trip to see the 4 or 5 perform out on the Left Coast in February of 2005. This will link you to the first entry. It's also on the Firesign website, but it can be a challenge to find there.
Missing twin? Well, as Dr. Harry "Happy" Cox would say, "Could be! Could be!"
Your second curve closely resembles the Neo-Laffer Curve featured by Wikipedia. ;)
Marykaye--
Thanks for the reference. I hadn't been aware of the Neo-Laffer Curve before, but was quite impressed by it when I went to Wikipedia a few minutes ago. Martin Gardner, the author of the Neo-Laffer Curve, has obviously put more thought into it than I have. He has so many more squiggly lines.
Thanks for stopping by.
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