Sometimes, the best journalism on a current topic comes from the past. This is a case in point. Stephen Pizzo's excellent analysis of George Bush's version of Voodoo Economics was written in 2002, but largely holds true today. This article is well-reasoned, and presents fairly different perspectives on this important issue. Insightful read.

An excellent history and description of ultra conservative’s duplicitous economics, also known by the infamous appellation as “ trickle-down economics.” Considering it was written in 2002 and considering the state of America today, an eerie portend of what was to come. This is the third failure of trickle down, or what some pundits describe as “urinal-cake economics.” Shall we at last learn an expensive, hard-earned lesson this time around?

Not bad up to a point but slips when it comes to finding the real target, political economics, i.e., economics that doesn't have anything to do with reality, just political power.

Those who do not study history are likely to have to repeat the worst chapters. The story has keen insight and a sad history of lessons not learned about a national economic policy of predatory capitalism outside the law.

This story, sadly, will never see the light of day in nationwide media outlets, nor in markets where more conservative editorial boards hold sway. It's very nice to see someone connect dots going back more than twenty years - any situation like that we're currently experiencing is part of an 'event cascade,' not the result of a single or single set of action(s.) It would be illustrative if someone would undertake to track the similarities between our current slow motion economic train wreck and that of 1929, 1873, and other, significant economic upheavals - and point out similarities.

Highly informative. Well presented in spite of the subject matter. If the average voter had read and understood this 2002 analysis of factors that would create today's crippling debt and recession, we'd be in good shape now, with a sound economy. I'm less ignorant now than before I read it.

I used to think the lessing of taxes during a 'war' had to be the most worst policy ever. But as more issues come to light where reduction of regulation was part of the reason for the problem, the more lack of regulation has contributed. This is an accurate and important article that somehow did not get buried.

Yes. Pizzo is honest, accurate, and informative.

This opinion piece has minimal journalistic merit. While you "don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar" you do at least need to know the facts, and the author demonstrates almost total ignorance of facts about the economy. He makes the mistake of calling tax rate cuts "tax cuts" and everything unravels from that mistake. He does not know that corporations pay much more in income taxes now than in 2002, while lower-income persons pay much less. Total revenues have soared. Employment is high, unemployment extraordinarily low (not long ago 6% unemployment was considered "full employment"). The author is more interested in venting his hatred of Reagan and Bush than in the facts.

From the perspective of 2008, when government receipts are up dramatically and unemployment has fallen to near record lows, the story takes on a ironic note. How could anyone be so completely wrong as Pizzo? His theory has been completely uncercut the the past 6 years, and by a proper view of the past century of economic life in the USA. They don't get much worse than this one!