Maybe I’m a maoist, but I’d really like to have people forced to memorize little facts of life like this, and maybe carry the best blurbs around in a pocket-sized digest called What the Fuck Is and Isn’t Going On:

I was debating WSJ editorial writer Steve Moore on supply-side-trickle-down, and numerous times, he argued that supply-side tax cuts put more money in the hands of wealthy people and that generates more government revenue—this is Laffer curve stuff—and that this is what supply side is all about.

But as I tried to stress whenever that came up…no, it really isn’t just that.  I’m perfectly willing to grant that tax cuts for rich people make them richer, and while there’s no Laffer curve—the cuts don’t come anywhere close to paying for themselves—Steve’s right that their extra income will generate tax revenue.

But what doesn’t happen next is what matters: it doesn’t trickle down.  I know this is simple but it must be repeated.  The point of supply-side tax cuts is not to raise the after tax income of the wealthy, and then go home.  The legend is that their wealth will create more growth and jobs for the rest of us.

And that’s the part that doesn’t work.