by Linda Beale Inequality–the facts speak for themselves (don’t listen to the apologists on the right) Inequality is real, and it is growing. It is debilitating for democratic institutions, as the Supreme Court’s Citizens United case and its aftermath start to impact the federal elections and as the money from the Koch brothers, Walton heirs […]
by Linda Beale Beale debates Cato’s Edwards on the right’s “flat tax”–New Hampshire Public Radio Last Wednesday (Oct. 26, 2011), I debated the Cato Institute’s tax policy guru Chris Edwards about the right’s various “flat tax” (FairTax, 9-9-9, USA Tax, consumption tax) proposals, on New Hampshire’s public radio station’s hour long program “The Exchange”, hosted […]
by Linda Beale crony capitalism and casino capitalism–bad flavors for right or left, per Kristof and Stiglitz The Occupy Wall Street focus on “we are the 99 percent” juxtaposed with the CBO’s recent report on the growing inequality in America (see here) come at a time when the American right is pushing hard for policies, […]
by Linda Beale Perry’s Flat Tax and other “bold reform” ideas in context of the richer 1% The hard right candidates of the GOP are competing to set forth plans that demonstrate their utter and complete loyalty to the right’s “make the rich richer and make businesses less accountable” economic program. This program involves the tired […]
The Flat Tax is Back Moderated by Laura Knoy on Wednesday, October 26, 2011(follow link) Quote:“In past presidential cycles, the idea of fixing the tax code by charging everyone the same rate has caught on like wildfire, only to die out later. This Presidential election season, candidates Herman Cain Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich are promoting flat […]
by Linda Beal Perry’s Flat Tax Proposal The Atlantic has a good summary article contrasting Perry’s Flat Tax proposal (an alternative choice to the income tax, that is modeled after Steve Forbe’s flat tax, which will result in much lower taxes for the wealthy because of the deductions it retains along with the zero taxation […]
Noted for the record: author Piaw Na reviews Mike Kimel‘s Presimetrics at Piaw’s Blog: This is a great book to read if you’ve got a statistical bent and are willing to follow the data rather than your pre-conceived notions….Many people like to say that they’re data-driven, but most people actually have prejudices that lead them […]
by Linda Beale Perry Proposes (no surprise) a flat tax…. Rick Perry, one night after what has been termed an ‘invigorated’ debate performance, has climbed on the flat-tax bandwagon (presumably meaning a flat-rate consumption tax a la the national retail sales tax idea). See Tumulty, Rick Perry to Announce Flat Tax as Part of Economic […]
by Linda Beale Herman Cain, funded by Koch Bros, Says “Let the Little Guys Pay Taxes (not the uber-rich) The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” ran a ‘mini-op-ed’ segment on Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan, called “What’s So Bad About a Flat Tax?” New York Times (Oct. 14, 2011) (with the subtitle: Isn’t Herman […]
by Linda Beale Barney Frank and the need for a risk-based bank fee That post about the McCain-Paul environmental devastation and revenue decimation bill (somehow mistakenly given the label of a “jobs bill” by the misguided pair ) suggests the unprecedented extent to which our Congressional reps now believe they can use and abuse national […]