This video from Reason TV about school choice in New Orleans is a perfect example of something good resulting from a bad event. Lemonade out of lemons!
Daily Analysis
Don’t Be Afraid of the Chinese Economic Tiger
The news that China has surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy has generated a lot of attention. It shouldn’t. There are roughly 10 times as many people in China as there are in Japan, so the fact that total gross domestic product in China is now bigger…
“I Wish Republicans Had a Secret Plan for Personal Accounts”
Here’s my debate on Larry Kudlow’s show about Social Security personal retirement accounts.
Risk and Sin Taxes
Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative Education Fund, recently wrote to the Baltimore Sun to stick up for Maryland’s sin taxes. He seems to view it as the obligation of government to reduce activities it determines to be…
Have Republicans Learned from their Mistakes?
Walter Williams looks at the terrible job Republicans did when they last held power and asks whether they deserve to win the House and/or Senate this November. Or perhaps the real question is whether it would make a difference for Republicans to regain control? The…
What’s the Ideal Point on the Laffer Curve?
There’s been a bit of chatter in the blogosphere about a recent post on Ezra Klein’s blog featuring estimates from various economists about the revenue-maximizing tax rate. It won’t come as a surprise that people on the right tended to give lower estimates and folks…
Choosing the Flat Tax over the Fair Tax
After my recent post on “bashing the IRS,” I got several emails and comments asking whether a national sales tax might be a better idea than the flat tax. I’m a big fan of proposals such as the Fair Tax. I’ve debated in favor of the national sales tax, done media…
Bush was the Biggest Tax Collector in History, But an Even Bigger Spender
Bill Frezza of Adams Capital Management writes at RealClearMarkets to debunk claims that the current deficit is due to a lack of tax revenue, rather than excessive spending. Using IRS data, he shows how revenues from the rich – as well as the effective tax rate…
“Dump Fannie and Freddie in the Potomac”
I appeared on CNBC earlier today to explain why a stake should be driven through the heart of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. My debate opponents seems to be somewhat on the right side and admits that Fannie and Freddie are bad news, but inexplicably wants to keep them…
Letter from Cayman Finance Exposes Senator Levin’s Fallacies
Recently, I chastised Senator Levin for his assault on so-called “tax havens,” pointing out that Levin’s agenda would fail to benefit small businesses, but instead “place U.S. corporations at a competitive disadvantage in the international marketplace.” Since…