Chapter summaries Alexandra Petri's US History Alexandra Petri

Chapter 72: 50 States of Grey—Laffer Curves

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with a personified economy sighing with desire for prosperity. An Austrian School economist eagerly responds, describing an impending shower of economic benefits that will cover the economy — specifically through trickle-down effects and movement along Laffer Curves (as well as the economy's regular curves). The economist insists he can feel the prosperity building. Yet when the economy checks, it reports feeling nothing at all, undercutting the economist's confident predictions. The scene ends on this anticlimactic note, leaving the economist's theories unimplemented and the economy unchanged.

Key Events

  • The economy expresses longing for prosperity.
  • The Austrian School economist promises prosperity via trickle-down economics and Laffer Curves.
  • The economist claims to feel the prosperity approaching.
  • The economy states that it feels nothing, rejecting the economist's assurance.

Character Development

The two characters function as archetypes rather than developing individuals. The economy appears passive and unresponsive, a blank slate for economic theory. The Austrian School economist is overconfident and overly literal, interpreting abstract economic models as tangible physical sensations. Neither character changes during the scene; their interaction serves to highlight the gap between theoretical promise and lived reality.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Satire of Supply-Side Economics: The chapter lampoons the idea that tax cuts and deregulation will automatically generate broad prosperity. The economist's description of prosperity as a liquid that will "trickle down" and "cover" the economy mocks the mechanistic language of trickle-down theory.
  • Absurd Literalism: By treating abstract economic curves (Laffer Curve) as physical curves on a body, Petri exposes the absurdity of reifying theoretical constructs. The economist speaks of prosperity sliding along "your Laffer Curves and your regular curves," blurring the line between economic model and erotic fantasy.
  • The Gap Between Theory and Reality: The economy's final line — "actually I don't feel anything" — captures the central critique: no matter how elegant the theory, if real economic conditions do not improve, the theory has failed.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 72 distills a major critique of late-20th-century U.S. economic policy into a single, sharp vignette. By personifying the economy as a passive recipient of promised benefits, Petri highlights how ordinary citizens (and the economy itself) were left waiting for prosperity that never materialized. The chapter fits the book's broader pattern of using surreal, often sexualized humor to deflate political and economic orthodoxy. It also demonstrates Petri's skill at condensing complex ideas into a few lines of dialogue.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. What is the Laffer Curve, and how does the chapter satirize it?
    The Laffer Curve is a theoretical graph showing that tax revenue rises with tax rates up to a point, then falls. Petri satirizes it by having the economist treat it as a literal curve on the economy's body — something that can be touched or slid along — thereby mocking the oversimplification and physicalization of abstract economic models.

  2. Who are the two characters in this chapter, and what do they represent?
    The economy represents the aggregate U.S. economic system (and, by extension, the public). The Austrian School economist represents proponents of laissez-faire, supply-side economics, particularly those who championed tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s. Their dialogue enacts the tension between confident theory and disappointing outcome.

  3. How does the chapter's humor critique the effectiveness of trickle-down economics?
    The humor relies on the gap between the economist's enthusiastic description of prosperity flowing down and the economy's flat denial of any effect. By leaving the economy's final statement unchallenged, Petri implies that trickle-down promises were as hollow as the economist's boast — a rhetorical flourish with no tangible result.

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