The President announced his support today for corporate tax reform that reduces the rate to 28 percent by eliminating expenditures in the tax code, deductions, credits and the like. Ostensibly this reduction is a show of goodwill and a step forward. Yet under closer scrutiny, the President’s proposal hypocritically reinforces existing tax expenditures and fails … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2012
How About an Afternoon Tea Party?
CATO Institute recently held a book forum reviewing the newly published “Tea Party Patriots: The Second American Revolution.” Authors Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin explained the origins of the Tea Party and what it does and does not stand for. The discussion also included comments by John Fund, a senior editor at the American … Continue reading
No, CNN, Mexico’s drug strategy is not working…
Last week CNN ran a column by Mariano Castillo entitled “Is Mexico’s’ drug war strategy working?” as part of a continuing series about the ongoing conflict in Mexico. My response to that question would be an emphatic “no, Mexico’s drug war strategy is not working!” Castillo’s article begins by noting that “on paper” the Mexican … Continue reading
The Conundrum of the Smartphone
With smartphones starting as low as $40, it’s hard to remember what life was like before mobile devices dominated our lives. In combination with a data plan, integrating our social and virtual lives is as easy as touching a simple button. While social media apps and ridiculous time wasting games like Fruit Ninja are a … Continue reading
State vs. Federal: the Fundamental Fight without the Facts
Judge Robert L. Hinkle on Saturday, February 18, 2012 upheld the 2009 determination that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had jurisdiction to mandate clean water regulations on the state of Florida’s major water bodies. In 1998, EPA mandated Florida to develop new rules to develop nutrient criteria on limiting phosphorus and nitrogen in waterways, which … Continue reading
Obama’s Corporate Tax Plan: More Politics than Reform
By Logan Albright Today, President Obama unveiled a plan to cut the corporate tax rate from its current level of 35 percent to 28 percent while eliminating deductions and loopholes with the aim of raising $250 billion of additional revenue over the next ten years. On its face, this sounds like a sensible proposal designed … Continue reading
The Bipartisan Pivot to Asia
President Obama’s “strategic pivot” to Asia has received a lot of attention lately. Philip Zelikow, former advisor to Condoleezza Rice, defended the move, while Arnaud de Borchgave remarked that “U.S. strategic moves from Europe to the western Pacific and South China Sea are likely to be more pirouette than pivot — spinning on one foot, … Continue reading
STEM Cannot Support Top-Down Policy
STEM Cannot Support Top Down Policy In 2008, over 61% of advanced degrees in engineering from American universities were awarded to non-U.S. citizens. For mathematics, 50% of advanced degrees went to foreigners. But foreigners only composed 8% of those who received education degrees.[1] This trend is alarming for two reasons. First, it shows that the … Continue reading
If you think our political campaigns and elections have become too negative…
I invite you to take a look at the (one-sided) mudslinging that has already begun in Venezuela, less than a week after the Venezuelan opposition held a primary to pick their candidate to compete against incumbent President Hugo Chavez. Henrique Capriles was the clear winner of the primary, capturing more than two-thirds of the more … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012 ECONOMICS: The Buffet Tax Rule Is Really More of a Guidelinehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/us/politics/white-house-sees-buffett-tax-rule-more-as-a-guide.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23President Obama has made the Buffett Rule, mandating that millionaires pay at least 30 percent of their incomes in taxes, the centerpiece of his campaign for “fairness.” But look for it among the myriad tax changes the White House detailed in … Continue reading
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