I agree on the whole with the authors analysis. Even being a hashed together version of good old fashioned Voodoo Economics that it is, I believe that the key points missed in the legislation are those that promote corporates to coorect the ailings of the past including their massive pension fund deficits many in the billions. One can only hope that CEO's and boards if seeing a slow down take the opportunity for super normal profits and one time gains as the chance to correct decades of robbing Peter to pay Paul. But the greatest failing of recent US administrations has been an ability to articulate or formulate policy that prepares the US economy for the ever rising downward pressure on employment created by steady to rapid gains and lower cost barriers to the use of technology in place of labour. Indeed the rhetoric and devices used by Trump and adopted by Republicans at the last election can be seen as a set back,but that's not to say the Democrats are doing any better. If Barro's analysis tells us one thing it is that the US's perhaps biggest under lying economic concern is it stoic if not blind adherence to simplistic and outmoded economic modelling and theory that simply are yet to even acknowledge the disruption of technology in the economies of the world and until this changes and a US government is delivered a mandate on such change then how can government ever hope to lead or even react accordingly.

We simply can no longer rely on pure mid 20th century theory and policy to govern and guide us through an economy landscape that was simply not envisaged and was all but science fiction when it was conceived.

There is no doubt that these old familiar Republican policies will greatly continue and accelerate to consolidation of wealth and with it capital and despite the rhetoric of the last election those at the top understand the global economy and as is capitals will, they will let it flow to the lowest cost means of production regardless of whether that is offshore or to technology.