by Mike Kimel Tax Rates and Economic Growth Over Ten Year Time Horizons, plus Why a Flat Tax Would Result in Much Slower Economic Growth Last week I had a post looking at the the real GDP growth maximizing income tax rate using both top marginal income tax rates and and “average marginal” “all-in” tax […]

Besides her comments on the growing lack of influence of the AMA on Healthcare reform Maggie Mahar at Health Beat Blog writes about Medicare breaking the cost curve of the healthcare industry. Medicare Breaks the Inflation Curve

by Mike Kimel The Historical Relationship Between the S&P 500 and the Economy, Part 2: The Abrupt Rise of Short Term Investing Last week I had a post looking at how long it takes for events in the economy (in the guise of real GDP) to affect the stock market (represented by the S&P 500), […]

Around 6:00 or 7:00a.m. tomorrow, we should know if if Rev. Camping is correct or liable to be sued. This time. (He must read Frederic Sheehan.) I’m lucky; I get to spend most of the time at a swim meet. For the rest of you, just in case, a selection featuring Mr. Tom Waits:

Post stimulated by Steve Benen. Content due to John Quiggin. This is arithmetic “Arithmetic tells us there are two ways to achieve the goal: the government can bring in more money and put out less.”This isn’t “a combination of cuts and tax increases were necessary when the deficit got really big” Revenue doesn’t come from […]

One of my favorite paper presentations ever was by Daniel Parent, who is a good enough reason in himself for pending Labor Economists to apply to HEC. He was trying to present data on income inequalities in the Financial Services industry and was forced to note—all right, I asked—that they didn’t have the data to […]

There is growing discord between the ECB and national politicians over a ‘soft restructuring’ of Greek debt. The ECB doesn’t want it, while national policy makers grapple over it. And just in case you were wondering what a soft restructuring actually is, Joseph Cotterill at FT Alphaville explains. Beyond the gobbledygook restructuring talk is a […]

By Mike Kimel Optimal Tax Rates for Generating Economic Growth According to Barro-Sahasakul Tax Data This piece is a bit more wonky than what I normally post. I recently re-read “Macroeconomic Effects from Government Purchases and Taxes” by Barro & Redlick. I was struck by how different the conclusions they make about taxes are from […]