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…
Daily Analysis
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,…
Overpaid and Undertaxed
I sympathize with almost all taxpayers, but it’s difficult to feel sorry for government workers who get in trouble with the IRS. Compensation packages for federal bureaucrats are twice as lucrative as those for workers in the productive sector of the economy and their…
A Debate Between John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama
Here’s a clever video produced by the Winston Group, comparing the tax policies of two Democratic Presidents. Having previously highlighted Kennedy’s tax-cutting approach, it is painful for me to observe the class warfare approach of the Obama Administration. What’s…
Two More Reasons to Hate Taxes
When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. That old saying makes a lot of sense. As a tax economist, I’m sometimes guilty of looking at all sorts of issues based on their relationship with the tax code. In my defense, however, the tentacles…