In the most comprehensive and detailed take-down I’ve yet seen of the Obama administration’s destructive FATCA law, Herman Bouma offers “11 Reasons Why FATCA Must Be Repealed.” Bouma is a Senior Tax Counsel at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney…
Daily Analysis
A Case Study of How Interest Groups “Milk” the Public
Since I want to shut down the Department of Agriculture, that obviously means getting rid of the various subsidy programs that line the pockets of politically connected agri-businesses. To get an idea of how these corrupt programs operate, I strongly encourage you to…
Not only Do They Get Paid too Much, New Evidence Confirms Bureaucrats Don’t Work Very Hard
The Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards put together a remarkable (and depressing) chart showing that federal bureaucrats get almost twice the level of compensation as workers in the productive sector of the economy. Defenders of the bureaucracy (including a federal…
FATCA Opposition Spans Ideological Spectrum
Burdens created by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, particularly on Americans living abroad, are so obviously unjust that they are now raising the ire of more than just those of us ideologically and philosophically opposed to large government. Writing for…
Who Should Be Blamed for the Rising Cost of College?
Notwithstanding the title of this post, perhaps nobody deserves blame. Sometimes, a good or service rises in price solely as a result of changes in supply and demand. And if the price of something climbs because of market forces, then it’s merely a reflection of…
The $822,000-per-Year Bureaucrat and the Death of California
Hopefully we’re all disgusted when insiders rig the system to rip off taxpayers. And I suspect you’re not surprised to know that the worst examples come from California, which is in a race with Illinois to see which state can become the Greece of America. Well, the…
An Honest Liberal Confronts the Problem of Government Dependency
I’ve written and pontificated about the problem of government-created dependency and how the welfare state traps people in poverty. I also shared this dramatic chart showing how redistribution programs create shockingly high implicit marginal tax rates for those with…
Let TAG Expire
The Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAG) is set to expire at the end of the year. In the midst of the financial crisis, TAG extended bank deposit guarantees for checking accounts above the normal FDIC $250,000 limit, making them unlimited. The program was…
For Both Policy Reasons and Political Reasons, the Fiscal Cliff is Better Than Surrender
It’s never a good idea to display weakness during negotiations. Your opponent will sense your fear and up his demands. That’s certainly what we’re seeing in Washington. The cartoon at this link captures the GOP’s wobbly attitude on taxes, and this interview is about…
The Link Between High Tax Rates and Corruption
I’ve been very critical of Obama’s class-warfare ideology because it leads to bad fiscal policy. But perhaps it is time to give some attention to other arguments against high tax rates. Robert Samuelson, a columnist for the Washington Post, has a very important…