Topic: Government

New York’s Fiscal Suicide

– April 10, 2021

“If the tax increases are enacted, expect to see a significant drop in taxable income as upper-income taxpayers either leave the state or figure out other ways of protecting their income. I don’t know if the state will be on the downward-sloping portion of the Laffer Curve, but it’s safe to assume that revenues over time will fall far short of projections. And it’s very safe to assume that the economic damage will easily offset any revenues that are collected.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Fiscal Policy, Government, Taxation

Janet Yellen Is Serious, and That’s Really Sad

– April 9, 2021

“Yellen plainly feels individual U.S. tax rates aren’t high enough, so she seeks global tax harmonization on the corporate level in order to get another swipe at individuals. On their own, Yellen’s desires rate ridicule. As evidenced by the trillions Treasury collects every year from taxpayers in order to fund a government with powers ‘few and defined,’ Americans are already overtaxed.” ~ John Tamny

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Young People Are Particularly Vulnerable To Lockdowns

– April 9, 2021

“The inability of policymakers to acknowledge and grasp the basic biological needs of young individuals has resulted in nothing but disaster for all segments of the population. Lockdowns have failed to adequately protect the elderly from Covid-19 and unleashed a new public health crisis upon the young that may take years to fully understand.” ~ Ethan Yang

Economic Education, Government, Taxation

Three Reasons to Reject Biden’s Tax Harmonization Scheme for “Global Minimum Taxation”

– April 8, 2021

“It goes without saying that if politicians are able to create a tax cartel, it will merely be a matter of time before they ratchet up the tax rate. Simply stated, they won’t have to worry about an exodus of jobs and investment because all countries will be obliged to have the same bad approach.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

No, This Was Not Federalism at Work

– April 6, 2021

“As opposed to deferring to the states, the federal government acted in ‘size’ fashion, thus making the life, economy and freedom-wrecking lockdowns much more stringent, all the while elongating them. When we needed the genius of states’ rights the most, panicky politicians trampled on them. Here’s hoping a strategy that was so inimical to knowledge, health and economic vitality is not attempted again.” ~ John Tamny

Cryptocurrency, Government

China’s Digital Currency Has Nothing to do with Bitcoin

– April 6, 2021

“Governments who attempt to create their own crypto now are merely seeking to bathe in the warmth of one of our epoch’s greatest creations even while they eschew everything that made Bitcoin and other tokens so wonderful. The market itself is now in a position to decide. In the long term, the market will choose its friends over its enemies.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker & Peter C. Earle

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Why Have the Courts Been Deferential to Lockdowns?

– April 5, 2021

“Anti-lockdown proponents and advocates of traditional public health policy as it was practiced a little bit over a year ago must compete in the realm of popular opinion. In order to reclaim and preserve our freedom, there must be victories not only in politics and the courts but also in the arena of public discourse.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Why the Silence in the Face of Covid Tyranny?

– April 5, 2021

“When one weighs whatever is the quantum of tyranny that might realistically be ascribed to Trump against the quanta of tyranny that infest and fuel Covid lockdowns, mask mandates, school closures, and the Covid hysteria still being stirred up by government officials, the tyranny of the Covidocracy is far, far greater than was the tyranny of Trump.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Cryptocurrency, Government, Regulation

India’s Impending War on Crypto

– April 3, 2021

“Indian citizens have embraced cryptocurrencies in astonishing numbers, and despite the government’s best efforts to suppress the crypto economy, history would indicate that it’s a futile endeavor. By trying to ban them, the case for cryptocurrencies is made all the more clear, propelling their use and further innovation. The cryptocat is out, irrevocably so, of the bag.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Fiscal Policy, Government, Inflation

A Trillion Here, a Trillion There

– April 2, 2021

“In the end, the total of what comes out of the economy is limited by the total of what is produced, no matter that you can borrow or print up unlimited amounts of money. Borrowing and printing up trillions and trillions of dollars isn’t real. It’s a special form of deceit we economists call inflation.” ~ Clifford F. Thies

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Pandemic Policy Has Not Improved Our Lifestyles

– April 2, 2021

“We almost never know the full bundle of what we are giving up. Individual, social, and professional structures are evolving processes, trial-and-error, where we only find out what works over time. ‘The only effective judge of things is time,’ writes Nassim Taleb energetically in his excellent essay on the Lindy Effect – the tendency of things that have been around for long to stay around even longer. There’s wisdom in what works, what’s been time-tested, and what has been around.” ~ Joakim Book

Government, History, Regulation

For Pete’s Sake, There Is a Better Road!

– April 2, 2021

“America’s transportation system could again become a privately-owned and competitive one, both as to mode and route. All we have to lose are our chains, the policies that prevent competition on transportation price and quality alone.” ~ Robert E. Wright