A fellow named Charles Sykes has written a new book titled A Nation of Takers: America’s Addiction to Getting Something for Nothing. In the first pages of his book Sykes presents a few scenes from what he calls “Moocher Nation.” Here’s my favorite scene: Q. Why are you here? A. To get some money Q. What [...]
Tags: Politics · Politics of Taxes · The Economy
I winced this morning when former Pennsylvania Governor, Democrat Ed Rendell, said that he hoped the Supreme Court majority that had decided the Citizens United case was paying close attention to the corrosive influence of super-pacs in the Republican primary.¹ Mr. Rendell apparently believes that the Citizen United Justices should have based their decision not on what the law was, but on what [...]
Tags: Politics · Supreme Court
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
BusinessWeek’s Julie Hirschfield Davis wonders why Mitt Romney says he won’t release his income tax returns: Romney, a multimillionaire who is by far the wealthiest of the Republican presidential candidates, said he has no plans to release his income tax returns if he wins his party’s nomination, setting himself apart from past nominees in both [...]
Tags: Politics · Politics of Taxes
“Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know that is like my brother’s fault.” – Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene ii – Congressman James Clyburn was asked by MSNBC’s non-partisan Newt-hater, Mika Brzezinski, what he thought of Gingrich’s recent surge in the Republican polls. Clyburn said, with a [...]
Don Surber of DailyMail reports that 60% of Americans want to see accross the board spending cuts: One good thing about overspending by $4 trillion since Barack Obama become president: It eliminated all the sacred cows. An overwhelming majority not seen in 39 years wants every federal government program to have its budget cut. Every [...]
Tags: Politics · Polls · The Economy
Here’s Megan McArdle of The Atlantic on income inequality: I don’t care about income inequality. I care about the absolute condition of the poor–whether they are hungry, cold, and sick. But I do not care about the gap between their incomes, and those of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Nor the ratio of Gates and Buffett’s incomes to [...]
Tags: Opinion · Politics · Politics of Taxes · The Economy
