In his book, For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of History , Charles Adams makes it quite clear that the taxpayers are the real servants, while the so-called public servants — the political class — are simply the masters setting the slave wage. Of course, the primaries, debates, etc., bring this truism to life, with every
Tired of reading yours truly on evils of the FairTax? Here is Bruce Bartlett’s newest analysis of the tax that’s anything but fair: “ Why the FairTax Won’t Work .” Mr. Bartlett has written a very exhaustive and very thorough critique of the FairTax. Since presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee backs the FairTax, this issue is very relevant. Don’t be
Income tax revolt is slowing making its way to the ballot in Massachusetts, and it’s picking up a few enemies along the way. According to a letter in the Boston Globe : “So when Libertarian leader Carla Howell launched a new effort to junk the income tax earlier this year, the powers that be made it clear that this time they would do everything
An oped calls for getting rid of the word taxes and replacing it with the word dues. Why? Well, the word taxes seems punitive, whereas dues suggests “obligation and duty.” Now we come to the civics text sermon: “we thrive because of the schools and transit systems and 10,000 other services that exist only because we have joined together.” That’s
When entrepreneurs and business owners and managers face difficulties in the market, it is rare for them to throw in the towel, blame the customer, increase prices and hope that the problem goes away. A business that does not live up to the expectations of the customer becomes marginalized and on the long run goes out of business. Because a
Yes, that’s an actual New York Times editorial headline: Charity Begins in Washington . Ever-increasing private philanthropy is actually a bad thing, says the Times , because it crowds out government spending. Why, those private philanthropists can just give money to whatever they want! Better to tax us and let Washington decide where that money
Here is a howler from Paul Krugman: The fact is that war is, in general, expansionary for the economy, at least in the short run. World War II, remember, ended the Great Depression. The $10 billion or so we’re spending each month in Iraq mainly goes to US-produced goods and services, which means that the war is actually supporting demand. Yes,
I realize purists will object to any advocacy of taxation besides absolute zero, but even so I encourage people to read at least the first few chapters of my new study (. pdf ) on California tax reform. I know I was surprised at some of the charts, even though I already believed in marginal tax rate reductions for moral
Now online is my article from the May 12 issue of The New American , “Is Making Taxes ‘Fair’ the Answer?” This comprehensive article on the problems with the FairTax is not based on a Boortz book, although I think I mentioned him once or
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.