Ideas in Development

Edited by Stephanie Greenwood and with an introduction written by David Cay Johnston, author of a great exposé of the U.S. tax system, 10 Excellent Reasons Not to Hate Taxes is a much needed liberal manifesto.  Short and lucid articles provide the case for charging equitable and sufficient “dues” for this club to which we all belong: the U.S. of A.

Now, here are the reasons, absent evidence, rhetoric, or polemic:

Thesis 1: Economic development is not synonymous with business attraction strategies.

Economic development is not a single strategy, such as business attraction efforts or cutting high marginal income tax rates or earmarking more funds for in-state research and development. Instead, it should be regarded as a broader dynamic process that these initiatives may affect positively or negatively. To quote Kenneth Boulding: “Economic progress (or development) involves the discovery and implementation of better ways to address our wants.” Such a definition could be elaborated into a series of goal statements and relevant data indicators. So, economic development is not a collection of large capital projects, such as new plants and convention centers. It is an adaptation process, involving how smoothly, swiftly, profitably and humanely, a sub-national economy can adjust to changes in demography, technology, resource availability and costs, and competition from abroad and within the U.S.