Warren Buffett once said that it wasn’t right for his secretary to have a higher tax rate than he faced, leading me to point out that he didn’t understand tax policy. The 15 percent tax rates on dividends and capital gains to which he presumably was referring…
Daily Analysis
Democrats Unfurl the White Flag on Taxes and Class Warfare
I’m dumbfounded and amazed. When Democrats and Republicans have a game of chicken, the GOP blinks 99 percent of the time. And I thought for sure this was going to happen in the fight about whether to extend all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts (the GOP position), or whether…
It’s Simple to Balance the Budget without Higher Taxes
John Podesta of the Center for American Progress had a column in Politico yesterday asserting that “closing the budget gap entirely on the spending side would require draconian programmatic cuts.” He went on to complain that there are some people who “refuse to look…
New Orwellian Tax Scheme in England Would Require all Paychecks Go Directly to the Tax Authority
Our tax system in America is an absurd nightmare, but at least we have some ability to monitor what is happening. We can’t get too aggressive (nobody wants the ogres at the IRS breathing down their necks), but at least we can adjust our withholding levels and control…
Bureaucrats are Always Concocting New Schemes to Fleece Residents
This news report demonstrates the lengths to which bureaucrats will go to pick your pocket. It doesn’t matter if your taxes have already ostensibly paid for government services, many local governments are now double taxing for the use of emergency services, even if…
The Laughable German Version of a Conservative
By choosing not to use the economic downturn as an excuse for more wasteful spending, Germany may have avoided Obama’s big mistake, but that does not mean German conservatives and Angela Merkel are supporters of economic liberty and individual freedom. Not even close….
Overwhelming Evidence for Less Government Spending
Alberto Alesina of Harvard’s economics department summarizes some of his research in a column for today’s Wall Street Journal. He and a colleague looked at fiscal policy changes in developed nations and found very strong evidence that spending reductions boost growth….
Why Is the Left so Sensitive about Cuba?
I touched a raw nerve with my post about Fidel Castro admitting that the Cuban model is a failure. Matthew Yglesias and Brad DeLong both attacked me. DeLong’s post was nothing more than a link to the Yglesias post with a snarky comment about “why can’t we have better…
Debating Tax Cuts on MSNBC
I got the last word in this debate. More important, I think I had my leftist buddy on the defensive.
A Secret Plan to Block Obama’s Tax Hikes?
In the battle against higher taxes and wasteful spending, I’ve never thought that witches would be an ally, but Romanian politicians apparently voted down a proposed tax because they were afraid of being cursed. We curse politicians in America all the time, of course,…