I was surprised when the people of Oregon voted for a tax increase back in early 2010. Yes, I realize that the politicians and interest groups structured the measure so that the majority of voters would be unaffected. It was basically a class-warfare proposal, with a…
Daily Analysis
New International Monetary Fund Study Inadvertently Provides Very Strong Evidence against the Value-Added Tax
I’m not a big fan of the International Monetary Fund, largely because the folks in charge oftentimes advocate toxic policies such as bailouts, higher taxes, and currency devaluation. But there are some top-rate economists working at the IMF, and the bureaucracy has…
What’s the Best Way of Achieving Good Fiscal Policy?
The half-joking response to the question in the title of this post is that policymakers should look at what’s happening in poorly run jurisdictions such as California, France, Illinois, and Greece – and then do just the opposite. In other words, steer clear of…
Even Leftists Won’t Defend Obama’s Make-Believe $4 Trillion “Grand Bargain” Budget Plan
You have to give President Obama credit for chutzpah. He pushed through a faux stimulus in his first year and Obamacare in his second year, both of which significantly increased the burden of government spending. In the past two years, he’s basically punted, proposing…
Chuck Norris vs Barack Obama on Class-Warfare Tax Policy
I never thought I’d be quoting Chuck Norris about Obama’s tax policy, but he has a nice rant that includes a collection of the President’s more offensive statements. Sort of akin to the list I put together in this post (which also includes some preposterous statements…
Are We Jumping Off the Fiscal Cliff…Or Is Obama Pushing Us?
Obama has repeated once again that he will throw the nation off the fiscal cliff if Republicans don’t capitulate to his demands for class-warfare tax hikes. This is a serious topic worthy of weighty analysis, but I don’t really have anything to add to what I’ve…
Arizona’s Antiquated Tax on Tangible Personal Property
Last week the Tax Foundation released report which provides a means for states to get away from a pernicious practice, one which many folks might be surprised to learn about. Most people think of property taxes as merely dealing with land and the structures on it,…
European Politicians Share Obama’s View of a “Balanced Approach”
President Obama supports higher taxes, but he usually claims he only wants higher tax rates on evil rich people as part of his class-warfare agenda. Heck, he promised back in 2008 that, “no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not…
Amusing California Satire by Walter Williams, but What if Gov. Brown Takes It Seriously?
I periodically mock the crazy statists of California. The state is almost surely doomed to suffer a Greek-style fiscal chaos. The only unknown is whether Illinois will beat the Golden State into default. The politicians in Sacramento impose very high taxes to fund a…
America’s Best and Worst Governors
One of my favorite Cato Institute publications is the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, which is produced by my colleague Chris Edwards. The report card uses variables such as the burden of government spending and the degree of class warfare tax policy…