Reinforcing my earlier comment on Barack Obama’s allergy to antithesis, here is Michael Lind claiming that Obama is, for practical purposes, an Eisenhower Republican. As for the so-called social issues, Allan Carlson, in The American Way, pointed out that the […]
Politics
Beyond Red vs. Blue
Interesting. I scored New Coalition Democrat, not conventional liberal. Related: “Beyond Red vs. Blue” at PewResearchCenter
Life in the Slow Lane
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
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,” […]