The tithe has been a matter of controversy in Jewish and Christian circles, I assume, since it was first promulgated. [Islam, instead of 10% of income, proposes a contribution of 2.5% of one’s wealth per year.] Early in my Christian […]
Economics
Three New Testament Roots of Economic Liberty
We do not often think that Jesus Christ and the New Testament justifies capitalism. To the extent that capitalism means greed and self-indulgence, I should think not! Greed and self-indulgence are root human sins and will be manifested in any […]
Reno vs. Sirico: A Debate on Economic Justice
I rarely link to videos, much less watch them myself. But this one I actually did. It contains a debate between two scholars on economic justice, both of them, interestingly enough, identified as ‘conservative’. They are Rusty Reno, editor of First […]
On Feeling Guilty for Ordering Stuff Online
I like ordering things online and not having to hunt for them in stores. And sometimes the alternative is being eliminated. Just like paying cash or taking public transit, live stores, especially bookstores, are disappearing. There is only one major […]
An Addendum to the Manifesto: My Youth as a Deficit Hawk – Howard Ahmanson
It occurred to me that during the first period in my life that I was a conservative, which was in my youth, I was motivated mainly by deficit hawkery. I was ten in the year that Nixon ran against Kennedy, […]
The Working Class Might be Shooting Itself in the Foot by Being Anti-Free Trade
One of the explanations of the rise of Donald Trump is the concern by his working class followers about free trade, as well as immigration. After thinking of just how and where their standard of living is declining, I wonder […]
The Gasoline Tax: Charles Krauthammer Breaks with Republican Orthodoxy
Charles Krauthammer, generally regarded as a conservative writer, declared more than a year ago that he had been for a gasoline tax increase of $1 a gallon for 32 years. That would be, if I calculate right, since 1983. I’ve […]
If We’re ‘Better Behaved’ Just Because We’re Affluent, God is Not Impressed
It is often believed that poorer people are worse behaved and therefore undesirable neighbors; and certainly enough, certain pathological behaviors are more common in the poor communities. This is used as an argument for zoning and government land use control […]
Which Taxes to Raise – A Revision
In earlier posts I suggested that the top bracket income tax could be raised to up to 40%, as in the Clinton era, without hurting government revenues or damaging the economy. It still might not, but I have decided that […]
Edward Kleinbard Says, Don’t Soak the Few and the Rich
Edward Kleinbard, a professor at the University of Southern California, has pointed out that despite and in the face of extreme income inequality, not only is America’s tax system fairly ‘progressive’, its spending is fairly progressive in that the less […]