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

More on Greg Mankiw’s weak arguments for the Bain capital gains preference

by Linda Beale More on Greg Mankiw’s weak arguments for the Bain capital gains preference A few days ago, I commented on the weak arguments Greg Mankiw had put forth in his op-ed to support the preferential treatment of compensation for private equity and real estate partnership “profits” partners. He points out the categorization problem–that […]

Graphs Show It Clearly–the richest are much richer and most of us are poorer

by Linda Beale Graphs Show It Clearly–the richest are much richer and most of us are poorer David Cay Johnston has employed a couple of key graphic images that tell a significant story about the way that US laws have favored the rich–including tax administrative procedures that have reduced real audits of the rich and […]

Public Transit Benefit was down, is now up again (in Senate)

by Linda Beale Public Transit Benefit was down, is now up again (in Senate) One of the tax provisions that lapsed last year was a very popular tax expenditure supporting public transportation–a tax credit for commuters using mass transit was allowed to lapse back to a $125 monthly benefit from the stimulus level of $230 […]

Illinois’s Tim Johnson (Rep.) Squirms under Norquist No-Tax-Increase Pledge

by Linda Beale Illinois’s Tim Johnson (Rep.) Squirms under Norquist No-Tax-Increase Pledge Back in 2002, Tim Johnson represented a safely red district in Illinois and the radical right was pressing on his back with its reaganomics-inspired program to cut-taxes-to-shrink-(nonmilitary)-government-and-eliminate-public-infrastructure-and-social-justice-programs; de-regulate-to-free-up-big-business; privatize-wherever-you-can-especially-schools-bridges-and-other-essential-services.  Not to be outdone, Tim Johnson signed the no-tax-increase pledge on the dotted line, […]

Hey, didn’t the GOP say it cared about deficits?

by Linda Beale  Hey, didn’t the GOP say it cared about deficits? Just when you think those on the radical right had gone about as far as they could go without recognizing their own zaniness, those in Congress have revived their version of a tax “reform” for businesses.  It was first proposed in 2009–as an […]

Greg Mankiw attempting to justify carried interest

by Linda Beale Greg Mankiw attempting to justify carried interest Greg Mankiw wrote an op-ed in the Sunday Times Money section: Capital Gains, Ordinary Income and Shades of Gray, New York Times (Mar. 4, 2012). Mankiw notes the historical trend in the US to differentiate between capital gains and ordinary income regarding tax rates (though […]

Defining Rich VI: 1936 tax tables

Today we are continuing to look at the historical tax tables to see how we viewed and possibly defined rich. I introduced this idea with my post: Defining Rich III.   I found a source for all sorts of historical data from the Census Bureau. You can down load it or the better way is […]

It’s Almost April so Tax Tips Are Flowering

by Linda Beale It’s Almost April so Tax Tips Are Flowering You can tell when it is getting close to the April filing deadline for individual calendar-year taxpayers. All of the major tax firms release their “handy tax tips” to entice new clients for this tax season.The American Institute of CPA’s handy tips (released Mar.1, […]

Comparisons of charitable giving among presidential candidates

by Linda Beale Comparisons of charitable giving among presidential candidates[Hat Tip to Tax Prof] Len Burman, now a professor at Syracuse but still affiliated with the Tax Policy Center, wrote a blurb for Forbes on Stingy Rich People, Santorum-Gingrich Edition, Forbes (Feb. 20, 2012), which was a followup to Caron’s comparison of presidential contender giving […]

The Supreme Court’s corporate monsters–if money buys them "free speech" rights, can it help them avoid giving others human rights?

by Linda Beale The Supreme Court’s corporate monsters–if money buys them “free speech” rights, can it help them avoid giving others human rights? The Supreme Court decided in Citizens United that corporations could intevene to influence elections–giving money and aide to their selected candidates. This was an inordinate broadening of corporate “personhood”, claimed to be […]