While “Tea Party” activists have gotten most of the press this election cycle, they haven’t been the ones providing the heavy lifting for right-wing thought and plans. Every candidate needs more than “we’re angry!” if they expect to be elected. On the right that tends to take the form of what we might call Austrian School Economics, which includes the campaign of Tom Emmer for Governor of Minnesota.
I’ll spare you the details of this set of theories – you can follow the link yourself. The short version is that a high tax social safety net diverts wealth away from the vibrant part of the economy, individual choices, thus destroying wealth and ultimately working against its own aims by making everyone poorer. You don’t hear about this philosophy too directly because its adherents know it’s a real snooze and its detractors honestly don’t seem to understand where it’s coming from. I’d like to do my best to explain why this theory doesn’t work.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 