When does a federal government “fee” become a tax? Probably when it starts grossing about six times more than it was designed to take in. Probably when the government is in no hurry to end a windfall that generates an extra billion or two of play money each year. Probably when the government says that to cut the fee would be a boon to the rich,
The stock-market bubble of the past few years has distorted American economic values. The wealth effect is leading Americans to think that stock prices will never go down, so there is no reason to save. Americans, whose savings rates have been declining for decades, should save more. The stock-market boom of the past few years has been fueled by
In deciding on a tax cut, Americans must make a choice. Will we make the same mistake as Britain’s Labor government of 1945, which reluctantly cut taxes, targeting the cuts to ensure that none went to the rich? Or will we follow the route of the German Federal Republic of the late 1940s and 1950s, which repeatedly cut taxes across the board and
Some people and firms in the securities industry are cooperating with—or, should I say, surrendering to?—Jesse Jackson and his “Wall Street Project,” which pressures corporate America to adopt its own reparations program. The phenomenon reminds me of the aphorism attributed to Lenin: Capitalists will sell the rope by which they will be hanged.
The federal tax cut that recently passed Congress and was signed into law by our Potomac Janissary is too small, but it’s better than nothing. So we’ll each receive $300 this summer. Big deal. The average driver here in New York City pays more than that in a few weeks (days?) of negotiating our potholed government highways, which all seem to be
Disaster struck in Tennessee last week—a disaster, at least, from the viewpoint of career politicians of both parties and of members of the elite media, who seem to support every expansion of government. With the General Assembly poised to put another state income tax on the books, hundreds of angry taxpayers revolted, descending on the state
Politically oriented monetary policies and business cycles are the inevitable by-products of a central bank, the ultimate favored banking institution which is viewed as a savior by some politicians facing elections. After the elections comes the bill: Inflation runs amuck. The nation goes into a painful recession, or the stock market crashes.
In 1962, journalist Daniel Schorr interviewed East German leader Walter Ulbricht on television. In the final version, Schorr would ask a tough question, and Ulbricht would rail in anger. Reaction shots showed Schorr serenely nodding back, unshaken and in control. CBS Chairman William Paley praised Schorr for this interview, particularly Schorr’s
The perennial debate over gold is as old as civilization. What makes money valuable? Why do we happily accept some pieces of paper and refuse others? It is because one does or does not have some degree of confidence in the government that issues a currency. So today, for example, almost all players in the National Hockey League, Canadians as well
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.