It’s a common neoclassical claim that people will prefer an income tax over an equivalent excise tax. This claim, though questionable, is perhaps less interesting than the method these economists use to reach it. In fact, this seemingly obscure question winds up illustrating a great deal about what separates Austrian economics from the mainstream, and which school of thought is more realistic.
About the Guest
Jeffrey M. Herbener is chairman of the department of economics at Grove City College and assistant editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.
Article Discussed
“Austrians vs. the Mainstream: on Taxes”
Related Episodes
Ep. 723 Austrian Criticisms of Mainstream Economics Are Sound: Reply to a Critic (Jeff Herbener)
Ep. 456 Monopoly Is Everywhere, Say Mainstream Economists; Austrians Roll Eyes (Jeff Herbener)
Ep. 289 Austrian Economics vs. the Mainstream (Randall Holcombe)
Previous Appearances
Ep. 1005 Are We Richer and Better Off Than We Think?
Ep. 757 DEBATE: Is Fractional Reserve Banking Economically Benign? (Jeff Herbener & John Tamny)
Ep. 745 The Economics of Fractional-Reserve Banking
Ep. 723 Austrian Criticisms of Mainstream Economics Are Sound: Reply to a Critic
Ep. 664 How the Fed Screwed Up Before and During the Great Depression
Ep. 529 Leftist Site Attacks Gold Standard; Here’s Our Smackdown (Joe Salerno and Jeff Herbener)
Ep. 527 Is Austrian Economics Unscientific Because It Doesn’t Conduct Experiments?
Ep. 513 Can We Decide on a Main Problem with Socialism? Also: Why the Austrians Are Right About Monopoly
Ep. 488 Welfare Economics: Rothbard Was Right
Ep. 456 Monopoly Is Everywhere, Say Mainstream Economists; Austrians Roll Eyes
Ep. 403 Austrian Microeconomics: Where the Critics Go Wrong
Ep. 269 End the Fed, Then What?
Ep. 257 Austrian Economics vs. a Mainstream Text
Ep. 172 The Fallacies of GDP
Ep. 130 The Fallacies of ‘Public Goods’
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