Both parties in Washington belong to the same class — the criminal class. Both want to drain you of every cent and freedom you have left. Imagine the party that bills itself against spending and big government being described in this fashion: “This is a monster failure, an absolute massive failure on John Boehner’s part. This is a couple of [...]
taxes
Detroitification — It’s The Government, Stupid
Facts are stubborn things. No matter how hard the Washington crowd tries to sell an economic recovery, inconvenient and contrary facts keep rearing up to shatter their mythmaking. Few people any longer believe the claims of declining unemployment or low inflation at least based on purchases they make. The fable of a housing recovery is now crumbling: New Home Sales [...]
Taxes
High taxes have consequences. People alter their behavior in order to maximize after-tax returns. Or they change their time allocation at the margin, shifting more to leisure and less to work. The basic laws of economics (really human nature) govern outcomes. It doesn’t matter who or where you are, you prefer more to less. If you are working, you would [...]
Detroit Was “Impossible”
Detroit has fallen. The implications of this event are more important than most realize. Many previously-thought sacred cows were crushed in Detroit’s fall: In the most union of states and cities, unions learned that they are not sacrosanct. Investors learned that there are no risk-free loans. Uncuttable services like police and public parks were cut even before the fiscal demise. [...]
Humor — Bird Seed
This Chuck Asay cartoon captures what small business must feel like in this era of predatory government. It is like being a minor actor in Alfred Hitchock’s movie “The Birds.” Without reading the script, you know you are expendable.
David Stockman Alienates Both Ends of The Political Spectrum
David Stockman wrote an intriguing article which appeared in the NY Times. That it appeared in the Times is noteworthy itself, for it contradicts so many liberal shibboleths the paper has supported (promoted) for many years. Its appearance is less likely to reflect the first steps to Damascus and may be a sign of financial desperation where the need for [...]
Manny Pacquiao — Tax Expert
It happens slowly and in ways never imagined. High US tax rates are destructive to the economy. Anyone with material income is changing his behavior, whether it is with respect to current earnings, investment income or even emigration. These microeconomic decisions, people altering their behavior to adjust or offset the pain government wants to inflict on them, is what makes [...]
“There’s nothing more portable than a millionaire and his money.”
A recent post on capital flight dealt with its leaving the country to destinations where it is treated better. The capital referred to included both physical and human capital. Capital does not have to flee the country for harm to occur. It merely has to flee the areas where it is under attack. With regard to human capital, that might mean working less [...]
Capital Flight
Capital has no nationality. It goes where it is treated best. As social welfare states grab for more and more money, they make it harder for capital and labor to be productive. At some point the coexistence of the welfare state with the productive sector becomes so strained that the productive sector either cuts back on effort and/or moves outside the [...]
What Lies Ahead
The reality of government strikes home in this less than one-minute video.
Going Down The Toilet
Preaching/warning about the impossibility of honoring our obligations is getting tiring for me. I can only imagine how readers must feel. Obviously they would like to hear some good news, although that is not possible given where we are. Rather than me rant and rave, Mort Zuckerman can do so in my place. For those who believe the fiscal cliff [...]
Let’s Eat The Rich
Hooray, the grand compromise (actually a total Republican surrender to Obama and Statism) has been reached. The stock market apparently endorses the deal, as it appears to be in a melt-up this first trading day of the New Year. The euphoria of it all is enough to make H. L. Mencken marvel. In reality, no problem has been solved. Government [...]