Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Taxes and migration myths

Jared Bernstein writes on the same points on why people move to other states and taxes as Steve Roth and Linda Beale address in their posts today and gives us this evidence  (hat tip rjs): Migration is not common. The migration that’s occurring is much more likely to be driven by cheaper housing than by lower […]

Guest post: Basics: How Overrepresented Are Rural and Low-Population States?

by Kenneth Thomas Guest post: Basics: How Overrepresented Are Rural and Low-Population States? We all kinda sorta know it: rural and small states are overrepresented in the Senate and, to a lesser extent, the Electoral College.This has deep roots in American history, of course: when the United States Constitution was drafted, small states demanded the […]

Health Care Thoughts: Small Business, Obamacare, Tax Credits

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Small Business, Obamacare, Tax Credits I am still struggling to get my arms around whether or not small businesses will dump employees into health exchanges rather than continue health care coverage. And still looking at related issues. So what to make of the AP tax credit story […]

One in 189 of those with $200,000 or more in AGI paid no federal taxes in 2009

by Linda Beale One in 189 of those with $200,000 or more in AGI paid no federal taxes in 2009 [edited 5/30 to correct “one in four” goof] The IRS recently released another “statistics of income” report. This one has news that should make most ordinary Americans think twice about the GOP agenda of reducing […]

Do Millionaires Vote With Their Feet?

Andrew Rosenthal points us to one of the most eye-poppingly specious arguments I’ve ever seen against high-earner taxes, from Scott Hodge at the Tax Foundation (my bold). …612,520 people renounced their New York State citizenship and moved to Florida between 2000 and 2010. They took with them nearly $20 billion in adjusted gross income, after […]

In God We Rust, All Others Pay Non-Voting Stock

We’re catching up on some DVR viewing. Tonight’s episode was Lewis Black’s In God We Rust, which was released on St. Patrick’s Day but taped back when people could still believe Michelle Bachmann was a contender for the 2012 Republican nomination. It was filmed not earlier—and probably not later—than 7 May 2011. Why do I […]

Another US District Court finds no rational basis for DOMA treatment of same sex couples

by Linda Beale Another US District Court finds no rational basis for DOMA treatment of same sex couples In a case that will add weight to the likelihood that the Supreme Court will finally take a case to decide the constitutionality of the so-called “defense of marriage act” (DOMA), the U.S. district court for Northern […]

Romney to Replace Obamacare with…Essentially Nothing

by Kenneth Thomas Romney to Replace Obamacare with…Essentially Nothing Tommy Christopher (via @rcooley123) at Mediaite has a good catch on Mitt Romney’s health care proposals, from an interview Romney gave to Mark Halperin of Time magazine. Asked what would happen to people with pre-existing conditions after he were to repeal Obamacare, Romney said: If people […]