As published in the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Thursday Jan. 3, 2012 Edition Offers... Read More »
Gallup: Americans Don’t Much Like Class Warfare
What if they waged a class war and nobody showed up? Jeffrey Jones of Gallup Politics tells us: PRINCETON, NJ — Creating good jobs, reducing corruption in the federal government, and reducing the federal budget deficit score highest when Americans rate 12 issues as priorities for the next president to address. Americans assign much less…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Campaign 2012, Tax PolicyOrlando Business Journal: New Tax Bill is Good for the Economy
Bill Orben of the Orlando Business Journal reports that local CPAs and economists think the Obama tax bill will stimulate the economy: At best, the $858 billion tax-cuts package passed by Congress will spur economic growth by putting more money in the pockets of individuals and companies. At worst, the tax package that awaits the signature…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyHouse Passes Obama Tax Deal 277-148
CBS News reports that the House of Representatives voted late last night to pass the Obama tax deal which, among other things, will extend the Bush tax cuts for all American taxpayers: Acting with uncommon speed, Congress sent President Obama sweeping, bipartisan legislation late Thursday to avoid a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes for millions and renew jobless…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Legislative Watch, News, Tax PolicyGo Ahead, Make My Day
“Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn’t have messed with? That’s me.” – Walt Kowalski, Gran Torino (2008) – Daniel Mitchell of Cato has an interesting take on the tentative tax agreement between Democrats and Republicans titled The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Tax Deal. Here…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Legislative Watch, Tax PolicyWhat Now for the Bush Tax Cuts?
Howard Gleckman of Tax Vox lists the options Congress and the President have regarding the Bush tax cuts in The Lame Duck Congress and the Fate of the Bush Tax Cuts: So what will happen? Here are the options: Adopt Obama’s tax hike on high earners. It is dead. Even the President now says he is…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Legislative Watch, Tax PolicySixty Percent of Economists Say Extend ALL Bush Tax Cuts
From Paul Caron: CNN, Economists: Extend Bush Tax Cuts for Everyone: [A] majority of a panel of leading economists surveyed by CNNMoney.com said that the tax cuts should be renewed for everyone.
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax PolicyJoe Biden: Tax Increases are Good Because they Hurt Only 3% of Small Business Owners
Joe Biden and the Democrats have been oozing the class warfare argument that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire will affect only 3% of small business owners. But if the wisdom of a government policy were measured by the number of Americans it hurts, one would be justified in supporting the following policies: Denying Muslims the right to practice…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The Economy7 of 10 Economists Say Extend All Bush Tax Cuts
Economist Greg Mankiw reminds us of last month’s Wall Street Journal survey of economists on the wisdom of extending the Bush tax cuts: This seems to be the economic policy question of the hour. It might be worth recalling that last month, the Wall Street Journal polled economists about this question. Of those who expressed an opinion, here…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyObama Should Win One for the Gipper
Russ Fox of Taxable Talk says that President Obama should take a page out of Ronald Reagan’s handbook by not raising taxes (i.e. extending the Bush tax cuts): Today’s Orange County Register reminded me of an occurrence 29 years ago. On August 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut (the…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax PolicyTax Cuts for the Nearly Rich?
Blake Ellis of CNN Money.com says that the “almost” rich will actually get a tax cut if Congress allows the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of the year: Worried about your taxes going up next year? They might for some high earners. But some not-quite-rich taxpayers could end up with a surprise…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax PolicyThe Atlantic: 6 Reasons to Extend the Bush Tax Cuts
Daniel Indiviglio of The Atlantic gives us 6 Reasons to Temporarily Extend the Bush Tax Cuts to the Rich: Raising the Deficit a Little Won’t Scare the Market The Rich Are the Only Ones Spending Credit and Investment Will Benefit Last Chance for Stimulus No Better Alternative for the $70 Billion Not Worth the Risk of…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyArthur Laffer: Raising Taxes on Top 1% Will Reduce Tax Receipts
Paul Caron alerts us to some statistics from economist Arthur Laffer that I suspect will never be acknowledged by the always “honest” and “purely motivated” tax-the-rich crowd (emphasis is mine): Wall Street Journal op-ed, The Soak-the-Rich Catch-22, by Arthur B. Laffer: Sadly, in the debate over whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and if so whether the cuts should be extended to…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyKay Bell on Myths About the Bush Tax Cuts
Kay Bell of Don’t Mess With Taxes talks about the Bush tax cuts in a post titled Debunking 5 Bush Tax Cut Myths: William G. Gale, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center…. debunks five myths about the Bush tax cuts in an article for the Washington Post.…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyWhy Cut Taxes on the Rich if the Rich Aren’t Spending Their Money?
A fellow named Bruce Webb posting at Angry Bear suggested that allowing the tax cuts to expire on the top 2% of Americans might not hurt the economy since these folks aren’t lending and spending money as it is: The argument against allowing tax cuts to expire on the top 2% is that it would…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyDo All Smart People Agree that the Deficits are Bush’s and Reagan’s Fault?
With a confidence usually found only in top-gun pilots and NFL wide receivers, Professor Linda Beale of ataxingmatter has categorically concluded that the current budget deficits are all George Bush’s and Ronald Reagan’s fault and if you don’t agree with her you’re ignorant (emphasis is mine): [The] deficits, as anybody who follows the economy well knows, are due to three…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The Economy