We’ve been scolded by some of our readers for our coverage of Sarah Palin. This morning we turned to a “Washington insider” to find out about her economic outlook, largely because she didn’t seem to say much about economic policy in her speech and her short tenure as governor of Alaska didn’t give her much of a chance to articulate a policy. Some readers point out that we might have overlooked the gushing black elephant in the room: oil policy.
Former supply-side economics, tax-cutter guru Larry Kudlow gives voice to this idea in the new York Sun today.
“The no. 1 economic issue this election is gasoline prices at the pump,” he writes. “And Governor Palin has the energy answer: Our abundant country can produce more energy at lower cost if government gets out of the way.”
There is a body of thought–increasingly popular among Republicans apparently–that holds that energy policy is the key to economic growth and financial health. Everything from home prices (pricey gas makes suburban life more expensive) to drug prices (the cost of chemicals) to food has an energy pricing angle. “Energy prices are the extreme marginal tax rates for the twenty-first century,” a ‘drill, baby, drill’ Republican told us.
Palin Is Our Energy Answer [New York Sun]