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Quick story from a #BPEA on-record reporter lunch today discussing a new @gabriel_zucman & Saez wealth tax paper. One of the discussants was Greg Mankiw, Harvard economist and former Bush CEA chair, who is a critic of the wealth tax proposal. 1/
@gabriel_zucman One of the Zucman/Saez arguments is that a wealth tax will help the US by reducing the influence of the ultra-wealthy on politics. Mankiw -- who had already critiqued the proposal on several fronts, including efficacy -- was responding to that argument. 2/
"Most rich people I know," Mankiw said, "were sad Donald Trump got elected." 3/
The problem with the US political system, Mankiw added, is "not about money. It's that we've got a con man in the White House. And I don't think a wealth tax is going to solve that problem." 4/
BPEA is often a really intense intellectual joust between high-profile economists. The main sessions are all under Chatham House rules, which means we can't report who said what. So this is the rare case of an on-the-record, high-profile verbal shot from the conference. 5/
Plus, a former top economist to a Republican administration calling a Republican president, direct quote a "con man". 6/
Bonus: In the August @SurveyMonkey polling for the NYT, Trump has a 48% approve / 50% disapprove rating among respondents who earn more than $150,000 a year. /fin
