Two years ago Kansas embarked on a “remarkable experiment”. Its Republican governor, Sam Brownback, brought in some of the largest tax cuts ever enacted by a state, slashing the top rate by a quarter and eliminating various small-business levies altogether. Just you wait, he claimed. The strategy would actually boost revenue by spurring growth; it would be “like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the economy”.

So is Kansas now booming? Hell, no. Its economy is trailing neighbouring states and the rest of the US; and tax revenue has plummeted disastrously, forcing cuts to schools, libraries and health centres. The lesson here is not that tax cuts can’t achieve miracles – sensible people knew that already – it’s that you just can’t keep some bad ideas down. After all, supply-side economics was proven to be bogus long ago. When Bill Clinton raised taxes in the 1990s, conservatives predicted a recession – only to see years of unprecedented prosperity. The myth that tax cuts pay for themselves was then comprehensively disproved by George W. Bush. Yet still legislators keep trying this widely discredited approach. Why? Because “faith in tax-cut magic isn’t about evidence”. It’s about giving rich people and corporations what they want. (Paul Krugman, New York Times, quoted in The Week, Aug.2014).

“Giving rich people and corporations what they want”. Exactly. Epicureanism stands for a level playing field and equal opportunity for everyone. When you continue to give one section of the population special favours in the face of experience, research and common sense then you are not only being un-Epicurean – you are asking to be called corrupt.