One year ago, I wrote about how the French government was getting unexpected additional revenues following the implementation of lower tax rates. This is the Laffer Curve in action, and it’s happening again in France, only this time because the government reduced the…
Daily Analysis
Should the Fiscal Pyromaniacs at the IMF Get another $500 Billion so They Can Advocate Keynesian Spending and Class-Warfare Tax Hikes?
Perhaps the title of this post is a bit unfair since the International Monetary Fund is good on some issues, such as reducing subsidies. And some of the economists at the IMF even produce good research. But I can’t help but get agitated that this behemoth global…
Deconstructing Jonathan Alter’s “Five Myths about Barack Obama” in the Washington Post
The Washington Post is a left-wing newspaper, so I’m never surprised to find examples of biased reporting. Last month, for instance, I made fun of the Post for asserting that Germany was “fiscally conservative.” I also mocked the Post last March, when a reporter…
Illinois Leftist Does a Facepalm, Confirming that Higher Taxes Enable Higher Spending While Trying to Make the Opposite Point
Two days ago, I explained that tax increases are bad policy. More specifically, I warned that giving more money to government exacerbates fiscal problems because politicians respond to the expectation of more revenue by spending more than otherwise would be the case….
Making Obama Seem Reasonable by Comparison, Merkel and Sarkozy Propose Higher Taxes to “Strengthen Growth Now”
The German Chancellor and French President have put together a plan to boost growth. Sounds like a good goal, but what specifically are they proposing? Some of the obvious ideas include: Lowering tax rates to boost incentives for productive behavior. Reducing the…
Obama Administration Supports Rogue IRS Regulation in Order to Please Europeans, Even though It Will Undermine American Banks and Hurt the U.S. Economy
I’ve written several times about a proposed IRS regulation that would force American banks to put foreign law above U.S. law. I’ve repeatedly warned that the scheme, which would force financial institutions to report the deposit interest they pay to foreigners, is bad…
Debunking the “Conservative” Argument for a Wealth Tax
Last year, I debunked the silly claim that Obama is a conservative. I almost didn’t write that post. Some things, after all, presumably don’t require a response. Would I waste my time, for instance, responding to someone who claimed that Milton Friedman was a…
Soak-the-Rich Taxes Create Happier Nations According to Junk Science Study
In the past 20-plus years, I’ve seen all sorts of arguments for class-warfare taxation. These include: President Obama says he wants higher tax rates for fairness, even if the government doesn’t collect any revenue. Rich leftists say they want higher taxes because…
A Futile Economics Lesson for France’s Politicians
I realize this is about as productive as talking to a brick wall, but I’m going to explain some basic economics to statist French policymakers (oops, pardon the redundancy). This heroic – albeit surely futile – impulse is triggered by a recent proposal from President…
New Unemployment Numbers Are Good News for the White House, but the Silver Cloud Has a Dark Lining
The White House doubtlessly is happy that the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.5 percent, in part because the President is much more likely to get reelected if voters think the economy is heading in the right direction. My political predictions have a mixed track…