Taxation

Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels

“People often complain about the ‘irrationality’ of politics, but there is nothing irrational about the process that has given rise to our crushing debt burden. Voters really do want lower deficits, provided it does not involve either cutting spending or raising taxes.” ~ Michael Munger

The Myth of American Inequality and Stagnation

“The familiar trope of the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle classes treading water is disproved by devastatingly large amounts of empirical evidence.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

America’s Long Depression

“The US economy may continue to grow or shrink a few percent from year to year, but it will remain mired in a deep depression compared to what it could have achieved.” ~ Robert E. Wright

CEA Deserves an F on Bitcoin Mining Tax Analysis

“The CEA’s argument would result in a failure on an introductory microeconomics exam. One expects better from a team of professional economists.” ~ Joshua R. Hendrickson

Hamilton’s Haircuts

“Whatever you think of the wisdom of Hamilton’s moves, our point is simple and stark: The US government has defaulted in the past.” ~ David R. Henderson and Jeffrey R. Hummel

Progressive Interest Rates?

“Whatever one thinks about a proportional income tax, the principle of declining marginal significance of income doesn’t justify progressive income tax rates. Neither does it justify progressive mortgage interest rates.” ~ Charles W. Baird

Patrick Henry’s Stamp Act Resolutions

“After Henry left town, the House of Burgesses expunged the fifth Resolve on the 31st. It only remains with us because it was found in an envelope alongside Henry’s will.” ~ James R. Harrigan

Tax Day: Inverting the Experience

“Tax season’s sophisticated sleight-of-hand will have most Americans wondering what they’ll buy with their refund, instead of questioning whether they saw results for all the dollars they won’t get back.” ~ Laura Williams

The Tax Code: A Playground for the Few, A Labyrinth for the Many

“The tax code’s complexity has created an environment in which tax-preparation services, lobbyists, favored industries, and politicians thrive, while taxpayers struggle to make sense of ever-changing rules and regulations.” ~ Antony Davies

Direct Democracy in the United States: Petitioners as a Reflection of Society

Tax Strike!

“For political reasons, the beefed-up IRS probably will not cause serious trouble until processing 2024 returns in 2025. Unless, that is, taxpayers rebel the only way they still can, via the electoral process, starting with candidate selection.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Let’s Cut the Budget Nonsense

“The Biden administration’s goal seems to be to spend lots of money on new unnecessary programs or failing existing programs, and to pay for it with yet more debt and with novel taxes likely to fall more heavily on middle class Americans and small businesses than on big corporations or the rich.” ~ Robert E. Wright