On Growth

Dear Conservative,

I find Republican plans to grow the economy so frustrating. They are a one-trick pony with little understanding of what makes capitalism function.

Their one trick is of course tax cuts. In their mind, all capitalist systems need is less taxes and a government always gets out of the way. Granted, I think this is mostly an attempt at pandering to a base that is rabidly anti-government, but I am disappointed at how they either pander against their better judgment or don't have the judgment enough to know that government serves an important function.

The truth is that our capitalist system has been as successful as it has been because of certain government investments. Over the long-term, our government has invested in research, infrastructure, including roads, power, railroad, ports, as well as significant investment in education and the creation of a legal system and security that is necessary to protect confidence in a capitalist system.

As we are mired in a major recession, it is enraging that Republicans are in a race to the bottom as each trots out programs that will cut the most taxes and therefore have to gut government spending and program. They claim they are proposing pro-growth policies, but if they actually understood capitalism, they would favor the right kind of government spending to promote growth, instead of pretending that all government spending, excluding the military, is bad spending.

A real pro-growth policy would increase spending on these items: education, infrastructure and research - and maintain spending on our legal system. By investing in education, we'd further improve the quality of our workforce and make it more likely that new inventions and innovations start here. And big gains could be made in inner cities were education outcomes are so poor.

By investing in infrastructure - whether it is a smart grid or otherwise improved electricity transportation or rail, roads and ports - we'll be allowing our businesses to be more productive than they otherwise would be. We can set the groundwork for more cost-effective power distribution and usage and decrease costs for businesses. And whether it is high-speed rail or other forward-thinking and smart transportation items, we can similarly make our businesses more productive. And research can help our firms develop new technologies and medicines that will change the world - and bring profits to domestic firms.

All of these things should be considered public goods - things that otherwise would be under-produced in our capitalist system. And one of government's best roles is in providing public goods. Unfortunately, the Republican party is too ideological to see any role for government, which means the miss opportunities for actual pro-growth policies and actually helping our economy for the future.