Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Blue Yeti ·
October 27, 2011 at 5:02am
Our own Richard Epstein schools a hapless PBS News Hour correspondent on basic economics. Not to be missed. P.S. For more from Richard (and John Yoo) listen to Law Talk.
Watch Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.
- Comment (40)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (9)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Feb '11
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Simply magnificent. Professor Epstein is an amazing support to conservatives and libertarians at NYU Law School!
Oct '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Stunning. Brilliant. Magnificent.
May '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Kudos to the producer that put this on the air. And condolences on your unexpected dismissal from PBS...
Dec '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
"You do not make the Poor rich by making the Rich poor." I think I'll remember Richard Epstein quoting Abe Lincoln. Thanks for this.
Edited on October 27, 2011 at 5:42amDec '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Just awesome.
That's what I aspire to. Being able to state succinctly and clearly what my positions are, and to do it on demand that way.
Apr '11
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Imagine having a candidate for the presidency with half of Professor Epstein's brains and conviction. (Sigh)
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
As someone who has the pleasure of interviewing Richard on a regular basis -- and the advantage of doing so as a friend, admirer, and intellectual sympathist -- my utter reverence for this performance is matched only by my lack of surprise.
I do wish our friend from PBS had called me up prior to his appointment with Professor Epstein. I would have been happy to have told him that interviewing Richard -- particularly with such a facile line of questioning -- is like drinking from a fire hose.
Bravo, professor. Bravo.
Edited on October 27, 2011 at 5:51amRe: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
That was gorgeous. Someone emailed to me today about the attack on Paul Ryan from the folks at the Economic Mobility Project. They sent this link to Dan Foster's rebuttal of the attack on Ryan. It contains great information.
However, I have heard that the Lincoln quote is in dispute as to its source; is there something more definitive than Snopes?
Oct '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
I'm not sure if this is a good thing, the host managed to maneuver Professor Epstein into a number of traps. No conservative is good at articulating the issues here, though Epstein came unusually close.
Higher taxes affect inequality by discouraging work; it's not redistributive since politicians always add in tax shelters. This is why the standard conservative argument works; since discouraging work is the whole point of higher taxes, it drives liberals crazy when we point this out.
Unfortunately, this works better as a wedge issue for the elite than explanatory material for the average voter. The key issue is that the real tax rate is not the marginal one. The difference between effective and marginal tax rates is vital to understanding how tax policy works, and we really should spend more time explaining it.
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
For what? For work, for savings and investment, the marginal rate is what counts. As I stand prepared to start a new project, what matters is the share of the next dollar of earnings I will bring home. The effective rate is a measure of past dollars; it tells you plenty about the total burden of government to an individual, but nothing about the incentives the entrepreneur faces.
Oct '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
King Banaian
For what? For work, for savings and investment, the marginal rate is what counts. As I stand prepared to start a new project, what matters is the share of the next dollar of earnings I will bring home. The effective rate is a measure of past dollars; it tells you plenty about the total burden of government to an individual, but nothing about the incentives the entrepreneur faces. · Oct 26 at 8:59pm
For redistribution. The big selling point for higher taxes is redistribution; "the rich are too rich" has never worked in America, but "the rich don't pay enough" has. Pointing out that higher taxes need not lead to higher redistribution kills this argument.
Jun '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
What we saw here was a class 'A" beat down. Thank you Prof. Epstein. I enjoyed it so much I'm going to watch it again and again. And to think people want to defund PBS.
May '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Great stuff. And great stuff to plan in certain annoying people's FB and Twitter accounts...
May '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Would love to set this video up on a large tv screen at Zuccoti Park and see what happens ;-)
May '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
And then there's the little tidbit mentioned by Thomas Sowell that much of the reason household income has dropped is that what were previously households with larger numbers of people have steadily broken up: several people living together v. people living alone...
Mar '11
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
What would be truly impressive is if the Newshour contributors had open ears and took Prof. Epstein's sage wisdom to heart, alas I believe their hearts are hard.
Also, the Abraham Lincoln quote is properly credited to William Boetcker in his poem "Lincoln on Limitations."
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
Aug '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
The right suffered huge blows when Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman and William F. Buckley died. They were the great communicators of the right, the people who could explain their beliefs with intelligence and conviction and passion, and whose roles have never quite been refilled.
Richard Epstein's defense of capitalism in that interview displays all of those qualities. It was a joy to watch.
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Living in the time of greater riches for the rich has enriched us all. What was the percentage of the super rich at the turn of the 19th century versus the non-rich and think of the conditions the non-rich lived in back then. America's "poor" today is nothing next to the "poor" of yesterday. I'm not advocating for poverty, but offering a perspective. The problem with this boomer generation is that they only see as far back as Woodstock.
Apr '11
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Right. But first you have get people talking straight. Reporters and politicians, who provide the word chunks that the general public think with, never distinguish between taxes and tax rates. RR, GWB, etc. did not lower taxes on the rich. They lowered tax rates and marginal tax rates, but they raised taxes, most particularly on the rich.
Oct '10
Re: Richard Epstein Behind Enemy Lines
Eight minutes fifty-eight seconds of meat 'n potatoes. Felt like he didn't waste a single word or breath. The video was over before I knew it.