I’m not a big fan of international bureaucracies. Regular readers know that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the worst institution from my perspective, followed by the International Monetary Fund. Some folks ask why the United Nations isn’t higher on the list? My answer is simple. The UN has a very statist orientation and it routinely […]
read more...People pay every single penny of tax that politicians impose on corporations. The investors that own companies obviously pay (more than one time!) when governments tax profits. The workers employed by companies obviously pay, both directly and indirectly, because of corporate income tax. And consumers also bear a burden thanks to business taxes that lead to […]
read more...I hate to sound like a broken record, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is once again pushing for bigger and more intrusive in the United States. The international bureaucracy’s “Economic Survey” of the United States reads like it was produced by some interns at the Democratic National Committee. Since the OECD […]
read more...Since I’m an economist, I generally support competition. But it’s time to admit that competition isn’t always a good idea. Particularly when international bureaucracies compete to see which one can promote the most-destructive pro-tax policies. For instance, I noted early last year that the bureaucrats at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) were pushing a […]
read more...It’s a bad idea when governments demand information on your bank accounts and investments so they can impose economically destructive double taxation. It’s a worse idea when they also demand the right to tax economic activity in other jurisdictions (otherwise known as “worldwide taxation“). And it’s the worst possible development when governments decide that they should impose […]
read more...If some special-interest lobbies give money so that a left-wing group can propose something like a value-added tax to finance bigger government, that’s no surprise. And if a bunch of subsidy recipients donate money to Barack Obama or some other statist politician because they hope for new programs, that’s also standard procedure in DC. I’ll fight these […]
read more...When you support limited government and individual freedom, you don’t enjoy many victories. Particularly if you’re relying on the U.S. Senate. But it occasionally happens. The Senate held firm and stopped Obama from getting a fiscal cliff tax hikeat the end of 2010. The Senate overwhelmingly voted against a VAT. The Senate unanimously rejected a Greek bailout. To be […]
read more...What’s the defining characteristic of our political masters? Going all the way back to when they ran for student council in 6th grade, is it a craven desire to say or do anything to get elected? Is it the corrupt compulsion to trade earmarks, loopholes, and favors in exchange for campaign cash? Or is it […]
read more...Over the years, I’ve shared some ridiculous arguments from our leftist friends. Paul Krugman, for instance, actually wrote that “scare stories” about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom “are false.” Which means I get to recycle that absurd quote every time I share a new horror story about the failings of the British system. Today we have some assertions […]
read more...If there was a special award for chutzpah, the easy winner would be the bureaucrats at the International Monetary Fund. These pampered bureaucrats get lavishly compensated and don’t have to pay tax on their bloated salaries. You would think this would make them a bit sensitive to the notion that it’s hugely hypocritical of them […]
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