You may have noticed the op-ed in the Wall St Journal by a Richard Vedder, who apparently creating arguments for the Joint Economic Committee in favor on abandoning progressivity in federal taxation. His article makes several claims about state taxation: 1. "A state can dramatically improve its economic performance by lowering the overall tax burden." 2. "The experience of the states suggests that a move in the direction of taxing consumption as opposed to income would increase our nation's wealth and prosperity." 3. "The econometric evidence demonstrates that flat-rate income taxes lead to superior economic performance over variable-rate taxes that raise the same amount of money." I would appreciate help in combating each of these propositions. Our governor is particularly responsive to demands from the business sector for lower property taxes and is considering offering to replace school taxes with a consumption tax, with disastrous consequences for working people and the poor. Dick Lavine Center for Public Policy Priorities Austin, TX
