[T]here's no bad day that can't be overcome by
listening to a barbershop quartet;
this is just truth, plain and simple.
Chuck Sigars
Skousen's Favorite Quotes
Mark Skousen is an Austrian School economist and investment adviser. Here are 3 of his favorite quotes on taxes snd national policy (thumbs up):
- “Little else is required to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice.” — Adam Smith
- "If everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and unfailing.” — Frederic Bastiat, “The Law” (1850)
- “A virtuous and industrious people may be cheaply governed.” — Benjamin Franklin
Not only is this the centennial year of the Federal Reserve, but last Sunday was the centennial of the adoption of the sixteenth amendment (national income tax) The Constitution initially restricted direct taxes (payed directly by the taxpayer/resident vs. say, consumption taxes collected on behalf of government, e.g. sale taxes or VAT's), to apportionment among the states (e.g., based on existence or ownership): examples of direct taxes include income tax, transfer taxes (gifts or estate), entitlement taxes (social security/Medicare payroll), investment taxes, and property taxes. In Hilton v US, Justice Patterson argued the principal of apportionment was to avoid tax burden shifts by a tyrannical majority: e.g., a tax on farmland would have been borne disproportionately by the less populated agrarian Southern economy. (I will say that SCOTUS on whether income taxes are direct has hardly been consistent. The English, especially Adam Smith whom published his influential Wealth of Nations during our Revolutionary times, considered income taxes as direct. Indirect taxes shift the burden, e.g., if the government taxes liquor disproportionately, I can evade the tax burden by not buying alcohol, and a business can pass along taxes, along with other costs, to its customers: Alexander Hamilton argued that overly high consumption taxes would be counterproductive because it would reduce consumption itself. Here's Adam Smith:
Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public prodigality and misconduct. The whole, or almost the whole public revenue, is in most countries employed in maintaining unproductive hands. Such are the people who compose a numerous and splendid court, a great ecclesiastical establishment, great fleets and armies, who in time of peace produce nothing, and in time of war acquire nothing which can compensate the expence of maintaining them, even while the war lasts. Such people, as they themselves produce nothing, are all maintained by the produce of other men's labour.
If direct taxes upon the wages of labour have not always occasioned a proportionable rise in those wages, it is because they have generally occasioned a considerable fall in the demand for labour....Absurd and destructive as such taxes are, however, they take place in many countries.The progressive income tax , enabled by the sixteenth amendment, penalizes economic success; redistribution of wealth is morally hazardous, reinforcing unproductive behavior and taking it from the very people whom can more efficiently and productively invest it to grow the economy. A majority or near majority of wage earners receive government benefits at artificially low or no direct cost (versus other goods or benefits); they have limited incentive to check the growth of government and the size of their benefits, although such government is intrinsically unsustainable.
Skousen notes (my edits):
Before the income tax, the government relied primarily on property taxes, user fees and import duties to finance government operations. The income tax has financed several world wars, the welfare state, and the regulatory state. The income tax is flawed for a number of reasons — it discourages economic growth and encourages a bloated government. The true principle of taxation is the benefit principle — those who benefit from a government service should pay for it. With few exceptions, taxes should not be based on ability to pay or the sacrifice principle.Immigration Reform: Thumbs UP!
One of the most interesting results of the Presidential race is that Asians supported Obama with 73% of the vote, more than any other group other than African-Americans and Muslims. Asian American students often overachieve relative to other groups, including white students, and sometimes face restrictions at elite institutions. There are a number of hypothesized explanations, including an aversion to red-meat politics, more receptive of a strong central government vs. individualism, more inclusive political participation, cultural support for national education policy, against the influence of evangelical Christian conservatives, against aggressive foreign policy, etc.
I literally cringe every time I hear the word "amnesty" used to describe immigration policy. I also dislike the caricature of Latinos as one-issue voters. I do think, as does Alex Nowrasteh in the below video:
- A robust guest worker program
- Policies that welcome all highly skilled immigrants.
We have to look at the fundamental factors driving immigrants to work around existing immigration policies. (Among other things, I would work to expand an Americas' free trade zone, immigration quotas, etc.)
Political Humor
A new study says that working fewer hours can slow global warming. So you know what that means? President Obama's economic policy is also his climate change policy. - Jay Leno
[We already knew that from last year's snow job of American voters by Obama's reelection campaign.]
The U.S. Postal Service announced they are ending Saturday delivery of the mail. Now if you have a problem and you want to complain, you can email them at USPS.com. - Jay Leno
[Check your spam filter for any postage-due emails. and you thought you got enough junk snail mail....]
It was just revealed that the Federal Reserve was hacked on Sunday. It’s pretty serious. In fact, they say the hackers could've made off with as much as negative $14 trillion. - Jimmy Fallon
[The Germans still don't know what the Fed did with their gold... Coin collectors should be careful over black market sales of those trillion dollar coins.]
After thousands of people voted on Facebook, Monopoly is replacing its iron game piece with a cat. And if that surprises you, remember — these are the people who had enough free time to vote on a new Monopoly game piece. - Jimmy Fallon
[The railroads have been replaced by "too-big-to-fail" banks; the role of the banker is now an IRS agent and you pay him $200 when you pass go. The agent uses the new helicopter game piece and distributes Obama money at the start of the game. Beware the new Eminent Domain and IRS Audit chance cards.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Supremes, "Baby Love"
