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February 13, 2007 Your income tax refund redefinedPosted by Mitch Kokai at 9:19 PM Sure, you should smile when you get that refund check. You should also consider the following:
If you like the description, thank Newsweek's Allan Sloan.
Newsweek likes EdwardsPosted by Mitch Kokai at 9:14 PM The latest blogging news makes the story outdated, but this feature from the print version of Newsweek offers little criticism of the presidential contender.
So Long, JimPosted by Hal Young at 8:46 PM WRAL is reporting the Jim Black will resign and plead guilty to a federal corruption charge.
Blogger No. 2 quits Edwards campaignPosted by Jon Ham at 8:25 PM First Amanda Marcotte, now Melissa McEwan. Boy, old Silky Pony really knows how to pick his personnel. His two foul-mouthed bloggers have both resigned now, perhaps after being fired and then unfired. We'll never know until the memoirs are written. This can't be good for a guy who looks 16 years old and is trying for gravitas.
Has Mookie fled to Iran?Posted by Jon Ham at 8:13 PM That's what ABC is reporting. That surge thing couldn't have anything to do with it, could it?
Re: Hot air argument settledPosted by Jon Sanders at 4:59 PM  Karen, these comments by Sowell are right in line with the parody I made (see the picture) of that particular method of "argument":The political Left’s favorite argument is that there is no argument. Their current crusade is to turn “global warming” into one of those things that supposedly no honest and decent person can disagree about, as they have already done with “diversity” and “open space.” ...
Just like impact feesPosted by Joseph Coletti at 4:30 PM James Taranto points us to this idea from Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle will unveil a tax on oil companies on Tuesday but will bar the firms from passing it on to consumers.
Charlotte's Bank of America in the immigration debatePosted by Chad Adams at 3:46 PM Banks love good press coverage, but they're more than gun shy when it comes to bad press. I just have to wonder how Bank of America thinks their latest credit card program might be received. From the Observer: The program largely caters to undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanics, the paper reported. The new card is open to customers without a Social Security number or a credit history Banks traditional rely upon customer's credit history to make such lending decisions, but BofA is now using "judgmental lending" in which employees evaluate credit requests, instead of relying on standardized scores. Interesting that we've spent the better part of 140 years to get away from "judgmental" practices and now it's all the rage.
More NAEP EconPosted by Jeff A. Taylor at 3:38 PM George, the late Jude Wanniski was one of the few people to actually try to figure out what the marginal tax rates were in places like the poorest countries in Africa. That’s right. A marginal tax rate on agricultural profits of 89% at $4,235. The tax system in Ethiopia is designed specifically to bring about the starvation of the entire population of 67 million. Can you believe a “corporate farm” that has a profit of $4,235 in annual income must pay the government 89% of any dollar of profits over and above that amount? How can this happen? Wanniski also noted other brutal aspects of the Ethiopian tax code, such as no personal allowances, which makes gross income equal taxable income, and monthly tax rates, meaning that one big cyclical payout is not averaged across the entire year, but taxed at rates starting at 20 percent. Plus a 15 percent VAT was in place. Capital gains were double taxed at 15 and 30 percent rates. Zimbabwe had a 45 percent marginal tax rate that kicked in at $500 of income, then a 30 surcharge on the tax you owed! Plus a 20 percent VAT. Wanniski deduced that these anti-wealth, anti-development tax codes were the result of years of high inflation combining with non-indexed, highly progressive income tax systems. Not suprisingly, they also did not collect much revenue as there was virutally no incentive to produce anything. In 2003, Wanniski estimated that 67 million Ethiopians paid all of $1 billion in tax. Clearly the government should take that revenue and pour it all into education and training so that people can find out about America and get the hell out of there.
Middlebury College adopts my position toward WikipediaPosted by Jon Sanders at 3:25 PM Middlebury:
Me:
More Locker Room discussion of Wikipedia is viewable here.
Re: NAEP economics testPosted by George Leef at 2:20 PM That second question is most irksome. The "right" answer is the conventional wisdom that what holds poor nations back is the shortage of formal education. In his most insightful book The Power of Productivity, however, William Lewis, who spent a lot of time in poor countries, argued that more education was not what they need. Rather, those countries would benefit most if government would reduce its drag on the economy -- taxing poor people so that politicians and bureaucrats can live well -- and establish secure property rights. With those changes, people will make whatever human capital investments are best for them without much help from the state.
Re: Hot airPosted by George Leef at 2:17 PM Investors Business Daily has this excellent editorial on the subject of the Kyoto Treaty.
Hot air argument settledPosted by Dr. Karen Y. Palasek at 1:40 PM Here's a nice piece by Thomas Sowell on the global warming non-debate.
My latest: Dixie Chicks, dissent, and "whacked" paranoiaPosted by Jon Sanders at 1:33 PM Posted at TownHall.com. A teaser:
Notes from the Education briefing for legislatorsPosted by Becki Gray at 12:36 AM Public schools:
Washington Post is for Vouchers?Posted by Dr. Michael Sanera at 12:33 AM Terry, I cannot believe it. Is the Washington Post actually recommending $25,000 vouchers for each DC student? Let's take them up on the deal.
$25,000 per student and no books, heat, or learning?Posted by Dr. Terry Stoops at 11:55 AM It's got to be D.C. public schools! Read this for some perspective on education funding.
Re: Christopher CrossPosted by Paul Chesser at 10:04 AM Records that Christopher Cross's self-titled debut album defeated for Grammy's "Album of the Year" in 1981: Billy
Joel - Glass Houses So tell me again why anyone takes the Grammys seriously?
Grade School Rules for GovernmentPosted by Joseph Coletti at 09:22 AM Remember how you handled things in fourth grade when somebody clearly broke an unspoken rule of the game? Another person would quickly say, "From now on..." Try this rule for government-related land deals. "From now on, if government money is involved in a deal through direct purchase or indirect assistance, the negotiated purchase price goes to the previous owner." What do you think, Daren?
More Trolley FancyPosted by Jeff A. Taylor at 08:58 AM Need to add one more stop to Conductor Hood's survey of trolley whoppers.
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