Marco : AN INTERVIEW Lexington conducted with Senator Marco Rubio last month caused a stir. Mr Rubio and this columnist had a wide-ranging chat in his Senate office around the broad theme of re-gearing conservatism for an age of economic disruption. It was an interesting discussion, in which Mr Rubio showed himself to be a more thoughtful and original politician than his public pronouncements sometimes make him sound. Lexington said as much in this column. The controversy arose from a criticism Mr Rubio made of the tax reform passed last year. It now requires a response from The Economist.
But first, a bit more background. Mr Rubio was critical during the interview of what he considered to be his party’s outmoded and complacent view of business as a panacea for all America’s economic needs. Recalling his party colleagues’ claim that workers would benefit hugely from the steep corporate tax cut the Republicans enacted last year, the senator was especially scathing. To the contrary, Mr Rubio said, “there’s no evidence whatsoever that [the windfall companies enjoyed] was massively poured back into the American worker.”
