Monthly Archives: December 2009
So Much for Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility
I had high hopes for the proposed Conrad-Gregg deficit task force. But buried in the press release is this tidbit: Importantly, the task force would ensure a bipartisan outcome. Broad bipartisan agreement would be required to move anything forward. Fourteen … Continue reading
Filed under Economics
Cap & Trade v. Carbon Taxes
There’s a sort of epic environmentalist civil war that’s arisen over the past few days, ignited by a column by climate scientist James Hansen in which he skewers the House cap-and-trade bill: Because cap and trade is enforced through the … Continue reading
Filed under Economics, Environment, Politics
Income Taxes Do Their Best Flat Tax Impression
Martin Sullivan at Tax.com crunches the latest IRS data to show that the effective personal income tax rate for millionaires has steadily declined since 1996. That in and of itself is interesting enough, and he makes a persuasive argument that … Continue reading
Project Cybersyn
This gives new meaning to the term “command and control economy”. And it also shows that while Pinochet was obviously a repugnant and deplorable dictator, Allende wasn’t coloring with a full box of crayons, if you know what I mean. … Continue reading
Filed under Politics
Do Progressive Taxes Increase Inequality?
Felix Salmon, who’s been a top notch writer on the financial crisis, makes the case that when a progressive income tax system is in place, the government has a self-interest in fostering plutocrats: Remember too that when you have a … Continue reading
Filed under Economics
What Luther Hath Not Wrought
A Harvard economist finds that the Protestant Reformation did not lead effect economic growth in the regions in Germany where it took hold: Many theories, most famously Max Weber’s essay on the ‘Protestant ethic,’ have hypothesized that Protestantism should have … Continue reading
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