Can anyone explain the economics behind NBC, regular ol NBC deciding to tip off an NBA game on a Tuesday at 8pm? How is anyone making any money off this deal? No one watching.
#NBA #voodooeconomics
#voodooeconomics — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #voodooeconomics, aggregated by home.social.
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What is Voodoo Economics?
The phrase “voodoo economics” became widely known during the 1980 U.S. presidential campaign, when George H.W. Bush used it to criticize Ronald Reagan’s economic proposals. Over time, the term has been used more broadly to describe economic theories or policies that sound appealing in theory but lack real-world effectiveness. Most often, it is associated with supply-side economics and the idea that tax cuts for the wealthy will spur enough growth to offset lost government revenue.
Understanding what people mean when they use the phrase “voodoo economics” is useful because it highlights how political rhetoric and economic policy can diverge from measurable outcomes.
The line that started it
The insult landed during the 1980 Republican primary. George H.W. Bush, a Yale-educated oilman running against Ronald Reagan, needed a way to attack Reagan’s central promise: that cutting taxes would unleash enough growth to balance the budget. “Voodoo economics” was his shorthand for budget math he considered magical thinking. The phrase stuck because it was vivid, and it followed Bush for the rest of his career.
The irony is the rest of the story. That July, Reagan picked Bush as his running mate, and Bush spent eight years as vice president publicly defending the very policies he had named. He later raised taxes himself as president in 1990, breaking his “read my lips” pledge, a reversal widely blamed for his 1992 defeat. The origin matters because it shows what the phrase really is: not a technical term, but a political weapon, coined by a man who then had to live inside the contradiction.
The Origins of the Term
In 1980, then-presidential candidate Reagan promoted what became known as Reaganomics. A key component was supply-side economics, which argued that cutting taxes, especially for businesses and high earners, would encourage investment, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth. Critics, including George H.W. Bush during the Republican primary, labeled this “voodoo economics,” suggesting it was based more on wishful thinking than sound fiscal analysis.
While Reagan’s policies did stimulate parts of the economy, they also led to large federal deficits and rising national debt, outcomes critics pointed to as proof of the term’s accuracy.
What It Means Today
Today, “voodoo economics” is used more generally to describe policies that overpromise and underdeliver. Examples include:
- Assuming tax cuts always pay for themselves through higher growth
- Believing government spending can rise without creating long-term debt problems
- Trusting complex economic models that ignore human behavior and psychology
The phrase is not a technical economic term, but rather a critique of ideas that appear to be magical solutions to difficult financial problems.
Buy Thinking, Fast and Slow on Amazon
What the supply-siders got right, and what the data said
Fairness requires saying what the critics of the phrase get right. Incentives matter. Marginal tax rates do change behavior: when keeping an extra dollar of income gets harder, people work, invest, and report income differently. The Laffer Curve, the napkin sketch behind the whole debate, makes a true point at the extremes: a 0% tax rate raises no revenue, and a 100% rate would too, since nobody would bother earning. The argument was never really about whether incentives exist.
It was about the revenue claim, and on that the data has been unkind. Federal debt roughly tripled during the 1980s, from under $1 trillion when Reagan took office to about $2.6 trillion by 1988. The 2017 tax cuts were sold with similar pay-for-themselves promises, and the Congressional Budget Office’s own scoring showed them adding roughly $1.5 trillion to deficits over a decade. The honest version of the supply-side case is “tax cuts can raise growth somewhat.” The voodoo version is “tax cuts pay for themselves.” That distinction, between a real effect and a magical one, is the entire argument in one sentence.
The Psychology of Economic Promises
One reason phrases like “voodoo economics” resonate is that people naturally want easy answers to hard questions. Just as in personal finance, where many look for shortcuts to wealth, voters are often attracted to policies that claim to boost prosperity without requiring sacrifice. This reflects how psychology shapes money decisions—both at the household level and at the level of national policy.
Books on money such as Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman or Nudge by Richard Thaler explore how biases and optimism can lead people to underestimate risks. When applied to economics, these same tendencies can cause policymakers and citizens to embrace theories that feel good but may not stand up to reality.
What Individuals Can Learn
While national economic policy may be out of your control, there are lessons for personal finance:
- Be skeptical of promises that seem too good to be true, whether from politicians or financial advisors.
- Remember that there are no “magic” strategies for building wealth. Success usually comes from steady saving, frugal living, and long-term investing in reliable assets like the S&P 500.
- Use tools such as budgeting apps to stay grounded in your real numbers, not in hopeful projections.
- Maintain a strong foundation with a high-yield savings account and short-term treasury bills to provide stability.
Final Thoughts
“Voodoo economics” remains a powerful phrase because it captures the tension between political promises and economic reality. For individuals, the takeaway is clear: stick to time-tested financial principles, question ideas that sound like shortcuts, and focus on building a stable financial foundation.
#Economics #Reaganomics #SupplySideEconomics #Taxes #VoodooEconomics -
“Voodoo Economics” - (HW Bush) this idea that cutting taxes somehow increases revenue It’s complete gobbledygook … and the Trump admin is all in. #majorityreport #samseder #kansas #voodooeconomics #taxcuts #revenue #theLafferCurve youtu.be/Zcab_3jJmVI?...
Elon Musk Declares War On MAGA -
The teacher in „#ferrisbueller s day off“ explaining that #trumps #tariffs are #voodooeconomics .
▶️ https://youtu.be/AyyAh2lQXF8?feature=shared -
In case you haven't watched #FerrisBueller lately, Let's talk #tariffs and #voodooeconomics Good reminder for 2025.We make mistakes&then when everyone who was around dies off we make them again. What is it again when we do the same thing over &over &expect different results? youtu.be/X_wHBlouFSc?...
Voodoo Economics -
🤦 The new #AKHouse Majority apparently believes the best way to retain #WorkingAKfams is by disproportionately 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 their income to subsidize the Top20%, #NonRez & #OilCos. #akleg #VoodooEconomics https://buff.ly/4i60zo3
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@kingkaufman '"Based on our research, we would argue that the economic rationale for keeping taxes on the rich low is weak," Julian Limberg, a co-author of the study and a lecturer in public policy at King's College London, said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.'
Right, of course. Other than a handful of true believers, most of us knew that back then. Trickle-down "economic analysis" was just a fig leaf for conservative politicians to funnel money into the pockets of their patrons. Even George Bush Sr called it what it is back in 1980.
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#ConvictedFelon #DonaldTrump’s New “#VoodooEconomics”
The former President’s #taxplan would cost the #government trillions of dollars. #Tariffs and #ElonMusk will pay for everything, he says.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/donald-trumps-new-voodoo-economics
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Everything Bad Is #RonaldReagan's Fault - SOME MORE NEWS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfgGDkWzYU
#Politics #Neoconservatism #VoodooEconomics #Deregulation #Debt #DeficitSpending #Extremism
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Ok last Costco toot for the day. Stoked to see an OG IPA Windows Up #alpinebeer get added to the mountain pack at Costco. Getting so close to having an ideal medley. I understand economics and free markets, but not being able to drive 20 mins up the grade to the Alpine tasting room and comfortable outdoor space is irreplaceable but happy for the memories created with the brewers themselves who would be drinking with us as they poured pints #voodooeconomics
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I wonder what will happen when the last airport share is sold off?
Aklders should be wary of candidates who promise low or nil rates increases. You WILL pay,one way or another.
And when the last asset is sold off, there will still be a Day of Reckoning...
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@HopeVanDyne @TonyStark @Cassandra @MJ @Karoli
#VoodooEconomics according to #BushSr, who signed on as #VP anyway that led to #BushJr starting an unjustifiable #ForeverWar with a country that had no hand in a #Terrorist attack on our country on 9/11 but was a reasonable excuse to fund the #MilitaryIndustrialComplex.
Every bit of which was justified by #Reagan's #CowboyForiegnPolicy and #AmericaFirst precursor.
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Voodoo Economics 8
Die Voodoo Crew diskutiert den Streik der ErntehelferInnen in Bornheim, Arbeitskampf, den Dow Jones, die Aufstände in den USA, die Rückkehr der Guillotinen u.v.m.
https://www.uni-weimar.de/projekte/bauhaus-fm/voodoo-economics-8/
