Former Mormon Miles Kimball speculates on where Mitt stands in relation to Mormon social and economic principles and how this would influence his approach to governing, in particular with respect to social programs and economic policy. Good primer for anyone not up on Mormon principles. This is a balanced presentation by a former believer who respects the belief but no longer holds it. No "magic underwear."
Read it at Confessions of a Supply Side Liberal
Will Mitt’s Mormonism Make Him a Supply-Side Liberal?
Miles Kimball | Professor of Economics and Survey Research, University of Michigan
4 comments:
I don't think any of the Mormon scripture cited by Kimball is going to be operative in the least for Mitt. Having been born into that culture and having lived in it for many years, I can say that Mormonism has been pretty right wing for a long time and that there was always a strain of kooky "Bircherism" at the margins. In the last 30 years or so, all that has become mainstream. It tracks with the rise of Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing media. Utah itself has one of the most regressive state tax structures in the country, so if any scriptural concern for the poor is effective in real life it is at the level of the congregation only. If you live in Utah and need help, you can always join the church. It also is very common for Mormon business owners to lead compartmentalized lives, where they are ruthless businessmen during the week, but good churchgoing "Saints" on Sunday. Mitt strikes me as one of these types.
I've thought it possible that Mitt Romney might revert to a "deficits don't matter" Lafferism so as to have some popular appeal, but the rise of the "Tea Party" elements and unlimited corporate spending would seem to militate against even that.
There is no such thing as a "supply-side liberal". Kimball is just a conservative with a strange compulsion for trying to come up with vague liberal-sounding reasons for a very conservative approach to economic policy.
Dan,
Have you seen the Poltical Compass? (http://www.politicalcompass.org/)
I think putting political/economic perspectives on two axis instead of one (liberal-conservative) is more comprehensive.
meaning… a "supply side liberal" … would be economically conservative and socially liberal (i think)
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