President Obama and Vice President Biden are currently playing the role of traveling snake-oil salesmen, peddling their latest wares in the form of yet another so-called stimulus bill. At the heart of their pitch are claims that would have you believe that up is down, black is white, and increased government spending is “austerity”. In […]
read more...Accusing a political opponent of being anti-science has become a standard tactic of both parties in recent years. These accusations are usually dishonest, as what the accuser typically means is that the accused is not properly weighing the costs and benefits of addressing a particular issue to their liking. Or they accuse them of disagreeing […]
read more...Disaster Keynesianism is the moniker I’ve given to the belief that destruction from natural disaster promotes prosperity. It is the logical extension of standard Keynesianism, which holds that any government spending is a boost to growth, and the various voodoo “multipliers” they use to justify their faith. With Hurricane Irene now behind us, it’s no […]
read more...I recently co-authored with Dan Mitchell an article in the Swiss magazine Schweizer Monat explaining the many problems with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the schizophrenic nature of US tax policy in general. The key points: The rationale behind FATCA is simple in its destructiveness. Even though the United States has a […]
read more...The big news is the deal reached to extend the debt ceiling. That politicians reached a deal amongst themselves to extend the nation’s credit so they can borrow and spend more money should not come as a surprise, nor should the fact that the deal, being spun as a so-called win for the Tea Party, […]
read more...The federal government fires so few of it’s workers that bureaucrats at a number of agencies are more likely to die in office than get a pink slip: Death — rather than poor performance, misconduct or layoffs — is the primary threat to job security at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Business Administration, the […]
read more...New York Times columnist Mark Bittman is having a jolly good time contemplating ways to control other people. “It’s fun — inspiring, even — to think about implementing a program like this,” he declares. And what kind of program is he talking about? One which directs people away from their own preferences and toward making […]
read more...Sound tax policy is hard to find these days. As CF&P has extensively covered, Congress included the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act as part of the HIRE Act, passed in March 2010. FATCA takes a fundamentally wrong-headed approach to tax policy. Rather than looking at how to make the U.S. tax system more hospitable to […]
read more...Senator Carl Levin is revitalizing his crusade against so-called tax havens. In a press release yesterday, he announced the reintroduction of his Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, while touting the support of labor lobby groups and advocates of big government. As the Center for Freedom and Prosperity noted in a press release yesterday, the legislation […]
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