What has happened with Taxes? What is “fairness”? Here are the numbers (percent of total tax revenue paid): Bottom 50% of taxpayers (earnings between $0-$33,048): 1980–7.05%; 1995–4.61%; 2008–2.7% 26% to 50% of taxpayers (earnings between $33,049-$66,279): 1980–19.93%; 1995–15.03%; 2008–10.96% 11% to 25% of taxpayers (earnings between $66,280-$113,798): 1980–23.74%; 1995–19.61%; 2008–16.4% 6% to 10% of taxpayers [...]
Browsing Posts in Educational
I pilfered this ReasonTV video from Bruce McQuain at Q&O blog. This is something I’ve been advocating for a while now. Private sector companies with all of the incentives that come with the private sector model are simply more efficient and productive than the public sector. If one simply thinks about incentives, it is intuitively [...]
There are two things every American should understand. Understanding these two things would go a long way toward rational solutions to our nation’s problems. Here are the two things: 1. Government DOES NOT CREATE wealth and prosperity. Free people engaging in free enterprise create wealth and prosperity. 2. The government can do one of two [...]
This showdown with public sector unions is not about “worker’s rights.” It’s about being responsible with taxpayer money, and ending a system that makes that impossible. To make it simple for people who have bought the “worker’s rights” lie (Keep It Simple Stupid), here’s the scenario: By some insanity you find yourself in the following [...]
Dear President Obama, Democrats, and Washington Elites, I am writing because I feel the need to explain something to you. You seem confused about what the term “investment” means, and completely befuddled about how the act of investing creates jobs. This is how investment works, and how it creates jobs: Joe has an idea for [...]
My working theory on the two political parties is that both sides are populated with good people. In fact, I believe we even want the same things, broadly. The problem arises in defining what those things are and how to get them. That comes down to differing views of the world. I happen to agree [...]
An overactive government necessarily means that things that should not be politicized are politicized. People say, “We need to get the money out of government” or, “We need to stop lobbyists and special interests.” When the government is picking winners and losers through legislation and regulation, businesses are stupid if they do not do all [...]
Notice that people in the media and in government are already talking about what the “tax cuts for the rich” will “cost”? This is the economic ignorance we need to fight. For what I am sure is not the last time: Preserving a tax at its present level is not a “cut.” People making $250K [...]
Let’s say you are running a race. We’ll make it a 10K run, something that requires serious commitment and training, you know you’ll be dead tired at the end if you run your best time and try to win (besides, I’ve never run a race farther than that, so I couldn’t relate to a marathon). [...]
Obama’s Planned Recession
As I was driving to Minnesota for vacation I heard an economist on the radio say something that needs to be a huge campaign slogan. What he said was this (paraphrasing): Obama has a recession planned for 2013. His argument was that in 2013 the Bush tax cuts expire and most of the Obamacare taxes [...]