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Dedicating sales tax is bad public policy

Conserving resources and providing habitat for wildlife is good. So are state parks and the arts. I'd happily pay more taxes for Minnesota to increase spending in these areas.

The Privatization of Public Services

"In public administration, there is no connection between revenue and expenditure … there is no market price for achievements." – Ludwig von Mises

"Death taxes" debate need some clarity

Most people don't understand the difference between an estate tax and an inheritance tax.

"Death taxes" debate need some clarity

Most people don't understand the difference between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. The distinction may not seem important but misunderstandings cloud public debate about such "death taxes" in general

A "tax exemption" is just a bribe

There are many euphemisms for 'bribe.' Depending on the country it may be 'baksheesh,' 'blat,' 'speed money,' 'propina,' 'an envelope' or 'chai.'

A "tax exemption" is just a bribe

There are many euphemisms for 'bribe.' Depending on the country it may be 'baksheesh,' 'blat,' 'speed money,' 'propina,' 'an envelope' or 'chai.'

A primer on taxes, just in time for the next legislative session

It is early winter, the time when, as the poet said, "young legislators’ fancies turn lightly to thoughts of revenue forecasts." OK, no poet ever said that! But a comparison to lovestruck youth is an apt way to describe the way legislators from many states, including Minnesota, are responding to the revenue numbers they are getting from state forecasters

Average rates tell true story about taxes

With tax deadlines fresh in our minds, it is a good time to reflect on how our income tax returns lend insights on policy questions.

Before ripping into voucher debate, look at government role as provider

Vouchers are in the news. One local newspaper led the week by editorially warning President-elect Bush to shun any plan for vouchers in public education.

Beware of flawed logic in tax debate

I went to work for the Federal Reserve in 1992 and the United States entered its greatest economic expansion in the 20th century. I left the Fed in 1999.

Both private sector, government "create wealth"

Can governments "create wealth" by using resources to produce goods or services of greater value to society than the resources used? Or does government merely take from some and give to others without any net increase in people's well-being?

Both private sector, government "create wealth"

Can governments "create wealth" by using resources to produce goods or services of greater value to society than the resources used? Or does government merely take from some and give to others without any net increase in people's well-being?

Bush health plan deserves consideration

Democrats should be ashamed of the short shrift they are giving President Bush's health proposals. They should embrace his proposal that we equalize tax treatment of health insurance spending.

Bush health plan deserves consideration

Democrats should be ashamed of the short shrift they are giving President Bush's health proposals.

Consumption Tax

For most of the twentieth century, the principal federal tax on individuals in the United States was on income, whether it is earned from labor (wages and salaries) or capital (interest, dividends, and capital gains). But a growing number of economists and politicians have concluded that the United States should replace the income tax—partially or entirely—with a tax on consumption.

Convention brings gusts of hot air concerning federal fiscal policies

There’s an old saying among English conservatives that "no man’s life or property are safe as long as Parliament is in session." I don’t believe that, but it seems pretty clear that common sense and reasoned discussion are endangered species while the major political parties here in the United States rev up their presidential campaigns.

Deeply held values, intense fears clog the education voucher debate

Societies benefit greatly when governments ensure that most citizens are healthy and well educated. That is a nearly universal lesson of history. The question is, how this can best be achieved?

Deficit spending is seductive

As the new Congress and the Minnesota Legislature begin their work this week, their members should heed one of economist Milton Friedman's basic warnings: If a tax cut is not accompanied by a decrease in government spending, then it really isn't a tax cut.

Direct and Indirect Taxation

We now focus on taxation. Taxation is any compulsory levy from private sector households and businesses to the government in the form of direct or indirect taxes.

DIŞ BORÇLANMANIN YATIRIMLAR ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİ

1982 yılı itibariyle borçlanma problemi, gerek tarihi ve gerekse diğer ülkelerle ilişkilerdeki gelişmeler sebebiyle, pek çok ülkede yatırım oranlarının önemli ölçüde azalmasına yol açmıştır.

Do signs point to inflation? Time will tell

I usually don't see inflation hiding behind every tree, but some current prices give me pause. Gold, the time-honored inflation hedge, is near $600 per ounce � the highest in two decades.

Don't judge tax-refund loans too quickly

Making large extrapolations from small bases can be dangerous. Case in point: I recently bought steel at the rate of $1,700 a ton for one of my projects. A few days later, I bought more steel from a different vendor, which charged only $800 a ton.

Emission Taxes

Emission taxes provide a solution to the failure of the free market caused by problems involving negative externalities.

Environmental improvements require complex give-and-take

Environmental consciousness is one of the great developments of the last decades of the 1900s

Externalities - Government Policy Options

Government intervention to reduce market failure from negative externalities

Federal Deficit

The U.S. federal budget deficit is probably the world's most cited economic statistic. In recent years U.S.

Fiscal Policy

Fiscal policy is the use of the government budget to affect an economy. When the government decides on the taxes that it collects, the transfer payments it gives out, or the goods and services that it purchases, it is engaging in fiscal policy.

Health care taxes are bad economics

The Bush administration's new rules for Medicaid limit how much states can tax health care.

Health Insurance

In the thirties and forties a competitive market for health insurance developed in many places in the United States. Typically, premiums tended to reflect risks, and insurers aggressively monitored claims to keep costs down and prevent abuses.

History shows U.S. is controlled by the Fed, not the White House

There is an old saying that "man proposes but God disposes." It means that while humans can plan and attempt to carry out grand schemes, the actual outcome and eventual course of history depend on forces beyond their control

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