A Cautionary Tale for the US

Republicans continue to be enamored with the notion of supply-side economics as practiced during the Reagan years. This despite the fact that Reagan actually raised taxes more often than he cut them. Tax cutting is alleged to provide incentives that will stimulate the economy. However, slavish allegiance to an economic proposition whose actual practice in the US is questionable has taken Ireland to the point where the country is close to being bankrupt. Estimates of the size of the bailout needed to bring the economy into balance range as high as a third of the country's GDP. In a Bloomberg news article, Chris Farrell surveys the damage supply side economics has done to the Irish economy.