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Vilified by Jonathan Chait (who is not a trained economist) as a "James Bond villain," Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform here comes back with an eloquent -- and, indeed, moving -- political and moral case for tax-cutting. I have to admire Grover, and acknowledge that what has made him a success in politics and persuasion, is that he keeps his moral center despite the enormous temptation to get into the muck and mire with a scumbag like Chait (who is not a trained economist); I on the other hand, can't resist calling a scumbag a scumbag.

Asked if they would be willing to pay their share of the $340 billion deficit--or $2470 per individual tax return, only nine percent said yes; 79 percent said no and 12 percent were unsure.

Of those 9 percent willing to pay, fully 63 percent of those said if Congress got the additional cash they would "mostly increase spending and not pay off the deficit." Only 17 percent believed Congress would use the money to fully pay down the deficit.

And the constituency for higher taxes is not there (and, yes, letting the Bush tax reductions lapse would raise taxes). Between 1996 and 2006 the percentage of Americans who believe their taxes are already too high has fluctuated between 50 and 66 percent. Your target audience that sees their taxes as too low has jumped from one to three percent and back to one percent most recently. Unless you are planning to seize power by grabbing the radio stations and airports and the railway stations in the capital, I think you need more than one percent popular support.

Or maybe hate and envy can come into play. Tax the rich to pay for everything. Asked in 2006 what the maximum percentage of a person's income is that should go to all taxes--federal, state and local ... one percent said 50-59%, one percent said 40-49%, six percent said 30-39%, 22 percent said 20-29%, 43 percent said 10-19%, 24 percent said 1-9 %, and the guys I really want to meet, those suggesting that "zero" was the right amount came in at one percent. The mean percentage Americans feel should be paid is 15%. That, by the way, is my stated goal--reducing the cost of government to half its present percentage of the economy. I am willing to go to the people with the argument that free people should pay less than European serfs in the Middle Ages. Eight percent of the country supports the present tax burden for higher-income taxpayers.

And envy fails again when the American people, fewer than five percent of whom will pay the death tax, are asked if the "estate tax" should be completely eliminated, as they were in 2006 and 2005--68 said percent yes. Only 19 and 17 percent were opposed in those years.

We want freedom. The left cries for envy and leveling. ...we are a movement dedicated to liberty... We worked with and for Reagan because he shared our goal of liberty and limited government. Not the other way around. He was not a great communicator. He communicated great things: liberty and its partner, limited government.

Update... If Chait (who is not a trained economist) were a James Bond villain, I think he'd be this one:

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