I found something on Greg Mankiw‘s blog that seems to explain why so many Americans bought homes and signed mortgages they could not afford thereby causing the housing crisis: In today’s NY Times, Robert Shiller reports: Even after taking into account factors like income and education, the authors concluded that people with relatively high I.Q.’s typically [...]
Tags: Philosophy · Politics · The Economy
The Weekly Standard via Instapundit: Tim Geithner says that because Americans are privileged to be Americans the rich should pay hire taxes: That’s the kind of balance you need. Why is that the case? Because if you don’t try to generate more revenues through tax reform, if you don’t ask, you know, the most fortunate Americans to [...]
Tags: Philosophy · Politics of Taxes
Everything Seth Godin writes is wise. Here’s his latest on “The sad irony of selfishness”: More often than not, the selfish person is insecure, fearful and filled with doubt. The selfishness springs from his belief that this is his only good idea, his last dollar, his one and only chance to avoid failure. “I need this, not [...]
Tags: Philosophy
You can put this post in the thick file labeled “why I favor small government and oppose high taxation.” F.A. Hayek tells us why socialism (i.e. central planning) inevitably leads to totalitarianism (emphasis is mine): Planning leads to dictatorship because dictatorship is the most effective instrument of coercion and, as such, essential if central planning on a large [...]
Tags: Philosophy
One of the first rules of debate is that you should endeavor to understand your opponent’s argument – both the strong and weak points – better than he does. The pro-tax left is, apparently, unaware of this rule. Count left-leaning economist Robert H. Frank among those who simply do not understand why many conservative Americans, the [...]
Tags: Philosophy · Politics · Politics of Taxes
I was re-reading King Lear last night and these two lines uttered by the title character caught my eye: Plate sin with gold and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; Arm it in rags, a pygmy’s straw does pierce it. A perfect motto for the occupy wall street movement, don’t you think? The rich can buy [...]
Tags: Philosophy · Politics · shakespeare
Daniel J. Mitchell writes in Helping to Explain Greece’s Collapse in a Single Picture: Politicians in Europe have spent decades creating a fiscal crisis by violating Mitchell’s Golden Rule and letting government grow faster than the private sector. As a result, government is far too big today, and nations such as Greece are in the process [...]
Tags: Opinion · Philosophy · Politics · The Economy
