Tag Archives: Tax

Extra Credit Assignment

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

If I were an econ or math professor I might be inclined to assign an extra credit for a short explanation of Buffett’s tax rate comparison to his secretary’s. Nobody seems to be able to get this much ballyhooed comparison … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Government, Taxes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

When is a tax cut not really a tax cut?

Posted on December 29, 2011 by

When it has the same incentives as a handout or ransom note. One of the problems with American politics, or politics anywhere, is the politicians tendency to ingratiate their status with voters by appearing to give folks gifts of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Government’s weakness: It doesn’t have to add value

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

In this previous post, I wrote about how government is overhead and that increasing overhead is probably not the way to improve a bad economy. I compared the economy to a burrito-making business, with the private sector being the burrito-making … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Government, Innovation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Would Buffett want to give politicians more of his money to spend if they ran his company?

Posted on August 16, 2011 by

Warren Buffett makes another plea for government to take more from him and his net worth peers. First, I’ll point Buffett to my advice for those who would like to raise taxes.  Thankfully, many others are calling for Buffett to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad Economy, Business, Economics, Government, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Advice for those who want to raise taxes

Posted on August 2, 2011 by

Here are a few thoughts for folks who want to raise taxes to help pay for the irresponsible spending of politicians. First, tell me how much more we should pay.  That way when we get there, we will know and … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Economics, Taxes | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Incentives matter

Posted on June 16, 2011 by

I recommend reading Alan Reynolds’ piece in Wall Street Journal Opinion today, Why 70% Tax Rates Won’t Work. The table below from the article says it all. With some wide range of experiences on where the tax rates have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Reading Recommendations, Taxes | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The tax machine

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

In a recent column, Taxes and Politics, Thomas Sowell writes: Someone once said that taxes are the price we pay for civilization. That may have been true when he said it, but today taxes are mostly the price we pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The political power machine

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

What is the tax code? Many might say its how we fund government. But, that’s not really it.  Funding could be accomplished with a flat tax. The tax code is more than a funding mechanism.  It’s a political power machine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Incentives Matter

Posted on February 11, 2011 by

Arthur Laffer writing a piece called Reaganomics: What We Learned in the Wall Street Journal today, plainly explains the Laffer Curve: The key to Reaganomics was to change people’s behavior with respect to working, investing and producing. Changing tax rates … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment