State Funding Board hears Laffer, others

Beginning today, the State Funding Board, which declares economic parameters for annual State budgeting, will hear from a series of outside experts, including Nashville-based supply-side economist Arthur Laffer on where they think we're headed. Chattanoogan.com has it. The Funding Board's meetings will be live-streamed on the Internet.

Arthur Laffer: Nashville granpa worries about Lions 'n Tigers 'n Bears

No Curve-balls here: Indisputably Nashville's most prominent economic refugee from California, Arthur Laffer writes in today's WSJ about a plague of fears of inflation rivaling the '70s, Federal defaults on promises, failures of bond auctions, a douple dip into recession (just what the Dr. ordered?) and much more. He predicts the Fed and Treasury won't heed his advice about, e.g., constraining bank reserves and braking the growth of M1, and concludes by saying he'll end-up focusing on preserving his personal assets for eventual conveyance to his Grankids. Laffer is shown at left, during a 2007 speech at Belmont University.

Laffer curveballs

Nashvillian and fabled Reagan economist Arthur Laffer writes overnight in today's Wall Street Journal that President-Elect Obama is wrong about renewable energy and energy independence and would do well to heed Al Gore's advice, as characterized by Laffer: "The only real solution is Al Gore's proposal to offset a carbon tax dollar-for-dollar with either an income or payroll tax reduction. If a carbon tax increase were offset dollar-for-dollar with an income tax rate cut, I for one would strongly support the policy. The economy would benefit because the progressive income tax does far more damage than a carbon tax would, and we'd use less oil. It's a win-win situation." Google Laffer and see how busy this fellow stays, largely because of a curve that people found easy to 'understand'.