dtuerck

Arizona readers who might wonder how a disagreement about macroeconomic modeling could have provoked the rant by "2ndPressure" should know the background here. His comments are part of a campaign launched by Boston Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to besmirch the Beacon Hill Institute and me in retaliation for our work on labor issues. We have shown how the prevailing wage laws, project labor agreements and wind power projects, all dear to the hearts of big labor, are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. The website “BHIExposed.org,” which was created by Local 103, is an attempt on the union's part to muzzle us through intimidation. Readers who visit this website will find that its semi-literate creators imply, among other things, that I have “endorsed” the perpetration of “tax fraud” and the teaching of “creationism” in the schools. The character who calls himself "2ndPressure" is popping up on Boston websites as well and is apparently an IBEW operative tasked to spread the union's calumnious attack. I urge readers to consult our own website (www.beaconhill.org) for examples of the work that has provoked this attack and for forthcoming commentary on the IBEW website.

David G. Tuerck
Executive Director
Beacon Hill Institute

Alas, Professor Charney once again demonstrates that it is better to check your facts than to criticize, just blindly, someone whose views you dislike. Contrary to what she supposes, the Beacon Hill Institute STAMP model does not show that tax cuts unambiguously expand economic activity. That's because we allow, as she would want us to, for the negative effect that a reduction in infrastructure spending would have on production. But I have to wonder, more fundamentally, if she has read any of the textbooks in public finance that have been published over the last fifty years or so. That's because they all show how tax increases exert negative effects on the economy, which, as in our model, have to be balanced against the positive effects of government spending on such activities as building roads and bridges. Finally, I am sorry that she can't reconcile her models with ours. But I have a suggestion: For a modest fee, we will provide her with our model, which she can then use to ascertain the actual effects of tax changes on the state economy.

David G. Tuerck
Beacon Hill Institute