Our infrastructure has been squeezed between resistance to raising taxes on the one hand, and welfare demands on the other. Related: “Life in the Slow Lane” by The Economist
Politics
Once Again, the Laffer Curve Curves
Michael Barone, whom I usually respect, confuses, like most Republicans, the issue about tax rates. Yes, when Kennedy cut the top rate from 90% to 70%, federal revenues did actually go up. And when Reagan cut the top rate to […]
Progressive Consumption Taxes
I agree with Frank, not with Henderson. I have a lot less problem with progressive consumption taxes on the rich than with progressive income taxes. That way if the rich use their money constructively, for capital investment, saving, or philanthropy, […]
David Stockman, Again
In this article, David Stockman, although both a hard-money man and a social liberal, comes out against continuing the G. W. Bush tax cuts! Read it to find out why. Related: “The Triumph of Politics Over Economics” by Nick Gillespie […]
2011 is not 1995
I confess that I was hoping that 2011 would be 1995. After all, we had just climbed out of a serious recession in the earlier part of that decade – dwarfed by the more recent one of course, but big […]
Club Wagner
I have asked to become a member of Club Wagner. I cannot be both that and a California Republican, that has been made abundantly clear. Related: “Club Wagner” by Douglas Holtz-Eakin at NYTimes.com Blogs Related: “Conservatives for Higher Taxes” by […]
The Triumph of Politics Over Economics
In this article, David Stockman, although both a hard-money man and a social liberal, comes out against continuing the G. W. Bush tax cuts! Read it to find out why. Related: “The Triumph of Politics Over Economics” by Nick Gillespie at Reason.com
Taxes and the Schadenfreude of the Rich
It is unwise for a state to be too dependent on the fluctuating incomes of the rich – or, for that matter, in my view, any organization. Instead of this being made an argument for “lower taxes on the rich,” […]
Tort Reform and Avoiding Lawyers: Good and Bad Ways To Do It
One of the features of our legal system is that if an organization or business rips you off for $3 million, it’s pretty easy to get justice, but if it rips you off for $30, you’re out of luck unless […]
California Republicans Are Crazy. Like a Fox.
David Atkins of Calitics on the left suggests that for the Republican Establishment, the magic 34% in one house of the legislature is enough, under the California Constitution, to achieve their purposes. Warning: Calitics is too far to the left […]