Outsourcing can go both ways, Part II

That was amusing, thanks.

OT: Before he left, Justin rightly took on Charles Gibson for promoting the idea that capital gains tax cuts increase revenue. I see McCain is saying the same thing:

MCCAIN (4/20/08): [Obama] obviously doesn't understand the economy. Because history shows, every time you have cut capital gains taxes, revenues have increased, going back to Jack Kennedy.

This is far from the first time McCain has pushed the full-blooded supply-side line that tax cuts increase revenues:

“Don't listen to this siren song about cutting taxes. Every time in history we have raised taxes it has cut revenues.” — McCain, [1/17/08]

“I would suggest that most economists agree that there was an increase in revenues… associated with the tax cuts.” — McCain, [12/5/07]

“Tax cuts—tax cuts increase revenues. The tax cuts, the revenues increased because of it. The spending outpaced the tax cuts.” — McCain, [11/27/07]

“Tax cuts, starting with Kennedy, as we all know, increase revenues. So what's the argument for increasing taxes? If you get the opposite effect out of tax cuts?” — McCain, [3/5/07].

Please indulge a follow up to my off-topic comment

McCain adviser (and serious economist) Douglas Holtz-Eakin has claimed that McCain "has never supported the idea that tax cuts pay for themselves." That is, to put it mildly, in tension with McCain's own statements (see my comment above). I would love to see a journalist contact Holtz-Eakin and ask him to explain the discrepancy.

Holtz-Eakin of course knows -- and himself stated even when he was in the Bush administration -- that tax cuts don't pay for themselves. I suspect he just views this as red meat McCain is throwing to the base, but doesn't really believe, and can somehow get away with on the back of his "Straight Talk" image. Or maybe McCain really does believe it. Either way, I'd be interested to hear how Holtz-Eakin reconciles his statement that his boss doesn't "support[]" a view he repeatedly expresses.