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Overview- Taxes and Growth

• A $545 Billion Private Stimulus Plan

  [NCPA, January 29, 2009] The Obama team should implement a private-sector funded stimulus and allow a temporary reduction in the 35 percent tax rate that U.S. companies pay to repatriate foreign subsidiary earnings. Doing so could inject more than $545 billion into the U.S. economy without expanding the deficit, says Allen Sinai, chief global economist, strategist and president of Decision Economics, Inc., a global economics and financial markets information firm.

• $646,214 Per Government Job

  [NCPA, January 29, 2009] House Democrats propose to spend $550 billion of their two-year, $825 billion "stimulus bill" (the rest of it being tax cuts). Most of the spending is unlikely to be timely or temporary. Strangely, most of it is targeted toward sectors of the economy where unemployment is the lowest, says Alan Reynolds, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute and the author of "Income and Wealth" (Greenwood Press, 2006).

• 40-Year Wish List

  [NCPA, January 29, 2009] The 647-page, $825 billion House legislation is being sold as an economic "stimulus," however, it appears to be a wish list for every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years, says the Wall Street Journal.

• Reforming U.S. Poverty Standards

  [NCPA, Brief Analysis No. 640, January 20, 2009] The current poverty standard is an outmoded, 40-year-old measure that is adjusted each year for inflation. It does not account for all of a family's income or living expenses. Many poverty experts support changing the poverty standard. But how should that be done, asks D. Sean Shurtleff?

• Policymakers, Be Aware: The Labor Market Needs Help

  [Center for American Progress, November 7, 2008] The election is over and the attention now turns to solving the country’s problems. Chief among them is the economy, which only became more pressing with this morning’s jobs numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported that the labor market shrank by another 240,000 in October, bringing the total job loss over the past 10 months to nearly 1.2 million.

• Socking it to Small Business

  [NCPA, October 24, 2008] Barack Obama declared that his economic plan is all about jobs. But how do you create more jobs when you want to levy higher tax rates on the small business owners who are the nation's primary employers, asks the Wall Street Journal?

• OBAMA OFFERS REWARD WITHOUT WORK

  [NCPA, October 22, 2008] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is promising $500 and $1,000 gift-wrapped packets of money in the form of refundable tax credits. These will shift the tax demographics to the tipping point where half of all voters will receive a cash windfall from Washington and an overwhelming majority will gain from tax hikes and more government spending, says Adam Lerrick.

• Surprise increase in leading indicators

  [CNN, October 20, 2008] broad measure of the economy's health rose unexpectedly in September after declining for two consecutive months, the Conference Board announced Monday.

• McCain vs. Obama: The story on taxes

  [USA Today, October 19, 2008] This week, both candidates proposed temporary tax cuts designed to help Americans cope with the financial crisis, which has sharply reduced the value of their retirement savings.

• Candidates disagree on oil companies' tax rate

  [USA Today, October 16, 2008] Oil industry tax breaks aren't huge considering the size of the industry, says Jeffrey Hooke, an investment banker in Bethesda, Md., who has studied the incentives. But Hooke says the tax breaks should be abolished because the industry is too profitable to need tax favors.

• Taxing Times

  [American Enterprise Institute, October 13, 2008] In these anxious economic times, when Americans are expecting a tax increase from Barack Obama, why isn't this issue--traditionally a Republican strength--working better for John McCain?

• A REPLAY OF 1929? DON'T COUNT ON IT

  [NCPA, October 6, 2008] Those who don't know history are destined to repeat its serious mistakes. Today some have questioned whether we could have another 1929-style Depression. The answer is no -- at least, it shouldn't happen, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD).

• THE STOCKHOLM CURVE

  [Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2008] With the economy struggling, at least some people are urging a pro-growth tax cut. Too bad they live in Stockholm, says the Wall Street Journal. Recently, the Swedish government announced business tax cuts, income tax cuts and payroll tax cuts to boost jobs.

• CAN BARACK OBAMA DO ALL HE PLANS AND CUT TAXES?

  [Dallas Morning News, September 19, 2008] In a town hall, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama once again said, "We will cut taxes, cut taxes for 95 percent of working Americans."

• Comparing the candidates' economic remedies

  [San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2008] The 2008 presidential contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain is taking place against an economic backdrop that is more troubled than at any time in the past generation.

• Tax Cuts, Real and Imaginary

  [American Enterprise Institute, September 8th, 2008] Thirty years of Republican tax policy have now completely eliminated federal income taxes on the poor and lower middle-income Americans, and almost eliminated them on middle America.

• Cheers, Hong Kong

  [The Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2008] For all their own policy foibles, Hong Kongers still understand one thing that sometimes eludes American pols: Tax cuts stimulate the economy. Hong Kong's government is far from perfect on the economic policy front, but it deserves a hearty toast for the free lesson it's just offered on the stimulative value of low taxes.

• Household Debt Goes Through The Roof

  [April 21, 2008] The housing bust has gotten most of the headlines, but the real story is the astonishing buildup of household debt in the United States and around the world in recent years.

• The Folly of 'Family Friendly' Tax Policy

  [Wall Street Journal April 9, 2008] Some self-styled conservatives have been suggesting that Republicans not overemphasize renewing the pro-growth Bush tax rate cuts. Instead, they argue, conservatives should focus on family oriented tax credits for rearing children, education and health care.

• Uncle Subprime

  [Wall Street Journal, April 3rd, 2008] Mortgage foreclosures haven't yet hit their peak, it's an election year, and Congress is back in session. Hold onto your wallets because a housing bailout is moving forward unless the White House says no, says the Wall Street Journal.

• The Coming Tax Bomb

  [Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2008] We stand on the verge of a very large tax increase, one that will occur unless the next Congress and president agree to rescind it.

• Strengthen Dollar, But Not Yet

  [CNBC.com, April 5, 2008]The Federal Reserve has been wise to keep the dollar weak as the economy navigates its way through the current liquidity shortage, says Robert McTeer, a distinguished fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis.

• Worried About A Recession? Don't Blame Free Trade

  [Cato Institute, March 31, 2008] In recent decades, as foreign trade and investment have been rising as a share of the U.S. economy, recessions have actually become milder and less frequent, says Daniel Griswold, director for the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute.

• Uncle Subprime

  [Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2008] Mortgage foreclosures haven't yet hit their peak, it's an election year, and Congress is back in session. Hold onto your wallets because a housing bailout is moving forward unless the White House says no, says the Wall Street Journal.

• A Crisis Or Mere Recession?

  [Business Standard, March 31, 2008] Low interest rates are doing their job in one critical respect: the decline of the dollar. When interest rates dropped, the dollar fell -- exactly as it should. The weak dollar is bolstering net exports and helping the economy.

• California's Sovereign Wealth Fund

  [Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2008] The fear that many have with sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) is a concern that governments could conceivably employ large pools of capital in non-commercially driven ways that are politically sensitive. Anyone interested in evidence of such behavior needn't look beyond America's borders.

• Dems "Change" Will Europeanize U.S. Economy

  [Investor's Business Daily, March 10, 2008] The professed agents of "change" don't offer a lot of specifics, but their legislative record shows they would move the United States to a more European-style economy -- a model that has failed by any reasonable standard, says Sen. Orrin Hatch.

• Some Good News

  [Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, February 27, 2008] Overall, richer societies are healthier, cleaner and more resilient than poor ones and without exception, the worst cases of environmental pollution occur in poor countries, especially those lacking democratic institutions.

• The Upside to Lower Home Values

  [Investor's Business Daily, March 4, 2008] With home prices tumbling, we're bombarded by somber reports. But this is actually good news, because lower home prices are the only real solution to the housing collapse.

• Tiny Numbers Make Foreclosure Increases Look Huge

  [Dallas Morning News, February 24, 2008] Many of the areas suffering the highest increases in the foreclosure rate are rising off a rate that is tiny.

• Obama's Patriot Act

  [Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2008] Coercing companies into raising wages and benefits above market rates may only lead to fewer workers getting hired in the first place.

• Millions Spend Golden Years Making Green

  [Dallas Morning News, February 25, 2008] About 2.7 million Americans are skipping retirement and working into their 70s, 80s and even 90s. Most remain on the job, retirement experts say, not for the money but for the personal satisfaction.

• When Taxpayers Ignore Less Visible Taxes

  [NBER Digest, January 2008] Salience (or visibility) is quite important when analyzing tax policies because shoppers are inattentive to taxes, say the authors of a National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper.

• The Investment Slowdown

  [Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2008] The current mortgage meltdown closely resembles what happened after the technology industry bubble burst at the end of the Clinton years. What Congress fails to understand, now as then, is that America is suffering from an investment slump driven by falling asset values, not a Keynesian consumption drought.

• Senior Benefit Costs Are Soaring

  [USA Today, February 14, 2008] All three major senior programs -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- experienced dramatically escalating costs that outstripped inflation and the growth in the senior population in 2007.

• Record Profits Mean Record Taxes

  [Investor's Business Daily, February 12, 2008] Every time oil companies report strong earnings they seem to tap into a gusher of resentment on the left. One of these days the critics might look at what these businesses are contributing besides vital energy.

• What's 2 Trillion Between Dems and the GOP?

  [Investor's Business Daily, February 8, 2008] Between McCain and Hillary or Obama 10 trillion dimes' worth of difference exist-- in lower personal-income taxes, lower corporate-income taxes, full business expensing, larger IRAs and 401(k)s, an end to the AMT and lower taxes on dividends.

• States of Opportunity

  [Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2008] Americans are continuing to flee the Northeast and Midwest, while the leading destinations continue to be Southern and Western states.

• Head for the Hills

  [The Atlantic, March 2008] Good fences make good neighbors, but the best fences make predatory neighbors stay away. In the case of Africa, two economists argue in a recent paper, the fences are natural, and historically their presence may have done the continent more good than harm.

• Creative Capitalism

  [Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2008] Bill Gates seems to believe that the solution to poverty is to persuade for-profit companies to meet the poor's needs by boosting the "recognition" of corporate philanthropy. But the dossier of historical evidence to suggest this would work is quite thin.

• More Roads, Not Rail

  [Dallas Morning News, February 4, 2008] Dallas does not need an "ambitious" regional rail network, says Mary Katherine Stout, vice president for policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

• Fixing Family Leave

  [Wall Street Journal, Feburary 5, 2008] Few laws are so universally acclaimed as the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which is based on the assumption that allowing employees unpaid leave is cost free. It isn't, says the Wall Street Journal.

• Congress' Pork Overload

  [Parade.com, January 27, 2008] Congress passed a 3,500-page omnibus spending bill after less than 24 hours for review. The bill, which mostly renewed funding for existing programs, contained more than 9000 "earmarks" -- worth at least $7.4 billion -- for legislators' pet projects.

• Public Jobs See Pay Gains

  [USA Today, February 1, 2008] State and local government workers are enjoying major gains in compensation, pushing the value of their average wages and benefits far ahead of private workers, a USA Today analysis of federal data shows.

• The 15 Percent Solution

  [Investor's Business Daily, January 30, 2008] Any discussion of fiscal stimulus should at the very least include provisions for accelerated depreciation and seek a long-term solution to what currently ails the U.S. economy.

• Myths About Recession

  [Dallas Morning News, January 28, 2008] Listening to the economic stimulus talk coming out of Washington, you could be forgiven for thinking that the recession is just around the corner. The main result of all this chatter is that far too many myths about recessions have made their way into popular culture.

• The Giuliani Tax Cut

  [Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2008] There's no question that Rudy Giuliani offers the best tax plan of any of the presidential candidates, says Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes Inc.

• Maybe Too Litte, Always Too Late

  [New York Times, January 23, 2008] The history of anti-recession efforts is that they are almost always initiated too late to do any good. The economy will improve even if the government does nothing

• Capitalism Lives!

  [Investor's Business Daily, January 24, 2008] Today, wishful thinkers on the left look at world market turmoil and see nothing less than the demise of free enterprise. Fact is, no system on earth is better at creating and fairly distributing wealth than the free-market system.

• The Coming Tax Tsunami

  [NCPA, February 1, 2008] Over the next 25 years American taxpayers will face a fiscal tsunami. Unfortunately, expected tax increases will make it increasingly difficult for Baby Boomers to save for retirement.

• Feel-Good Economics

  [Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2008] A new tax rebate - as part of an economic stimulus package -- probably won't do much harm. But anyone who thinks it will prevent a recession -- if one is actually in the pipeline -- is dreaming.

• Republicans and Taxes

  [Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2008] With Democrats insisting on a giant tax increase, taxes will be a major issue this fall no matter who wins the GOP nod. This is a perfect storm that means the next president will have no choice but to make taxes a political priority.

• No Stimulus Gimmicks, Please

  [Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2008] The amplified rhetoric of economic doom from leaders and hopeful leaders in Washington may become a self-fulfilling prophecy as consumers curtail their spending in response to the predictions of recession by their favorite candidates.

• Economic Freedom and Economic Growth In Mexico

  [NCPA, January 18, 2008] In Mexico, factors that have limited economic freedom for decades include unsound monetary policy, government corruption and insecure property rights.

• Lollipop Economics

  [Washington Post, January 16, 2008] It's an election year. Voters feel anxious about a weakening economy. Send them economic lollipops (say, a $500 tax rebate for most families). Make them feel better. Show them you're concerned. Prove that you're trying to improve the economy.

• World Bank Disgrace

  [Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2008] Corruption is an endemic problem in World Bank projects, swallowing unknown but significant chunks from its $30 billion-plus annual portfolio.

• So We Thought. But Then Again...

  [New York Times, January 13, 2008] Economic knowledge continues to progress in unexpected ways. Here are a few of the things we learned in the last 12 months, says Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University.

• The Pork King Keeps His Crown

  [New York Times, January 14, 2008] Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) led all House members this year in earmarks, securing $162 million in district favors, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

• Boomer's Eagerness To Retire Could Cost Them

  [USA Today, January 14, 2008] Taking Social Security benefits early could mean a smaller payout, hefty taxes on retirement savings and a heightened risk of outliving their money for baby boomers.

• Canada Would Beneft From A 15% Flat Tax

  [Fraser Institute, January 3, 2008] Most Canadian taxpayers could complete their personal tax returns in about five minutes using a postcard-size form if Canada adopted a 15 percent flat tax.

• A Generation That Is To Sick To Work

  [Financial Times, January 6, 2008] Weaning the long-term ill off welfare and into the workforce has long been an intractable problem in the United Kingdom, notes the Financial Times.

• Americans Need Tax Relief

  [USA Today, January 9, 2008] Americans today are still struggling with record levels of taxation. The plain and simple fact is that Americans need tax relief.

• Tax Challenges For The Next President

  [Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2008] Our next president will encounter three ticking tax bombs in the weeks following the inauguration, as he or she prepares the budget for fiscal year 2010.

• 55 Percent Tax Rate Under Obamamonics

  [Townhall.com, January 8, 2008] If anyone still thinks this election doesn't matter, just consider a normal, middle class family (with two incomes) that will earn $200,000 and still struggle to pay a mortgage, and college expenses, and so forth, in many Metropolitan areas.

• Corporate Tax War

  [Wall Street Jounral, December 4, 2007] A cut in the corporate tax rate would give a lift to the U.S. economy when it really needs it, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

• No Bailouts For Borrowers

  [Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2007] A taxpayer bailout of distressed homeowners would be expensive, unfair to the vast majority of homeowners and renters who have made prudent financial decisions, and set a troubling precedent that would invite reckless behavior in the future.

• Democrat's Wake Up To Being The Party Of The Rich

  [Heritage Foundation, November 6th, 2007] With Democrats controlling the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional jurisdictions, the reality is that, in America, the Democratic party is the new "party of the rich."

• How The Rangle Tax Bill Could Affect The U.S. Economy

  [Heritage Foundation, November 7, 2007] The debate over H.R. 3970 (the Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2007) -- what Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) refers to as "the mother of all tax bills" -- is really over a fundamental change in tax policy from emphasizing growth in the economy to emphasizing tax increases that would pay for new and expanded federal programs.

• Spending Tax Dollars Like Money Grows On Trees

  [National Tax Payers Union Association, November 5, 2007] Members of the 110th Congress proposed more spending cuts than in recent years, but fewer than one in seven Representatives and fewer than one in 10 Senators have spending agendas that would reduce the taxpayers' tab.

• Forbes Global Tax Misery Index 2006

  [November 13, 2007] Here is a list of cross-country tax burdens during 2006.

• Farm Subsidies: Welfare That Resists Reform

  [Investor's Business Daily, November 2, 2007] The House recently passed another multibillion-dollar farm support bill. The Senate now has its own version under discussion. And we can probably expect that the compromise bill that passes will cost at least $286 billion.

• Treasury Dept. Conference Highlights Need For Corporate Tax Reform

  [The Heartland Institute, Novemeber 1, 2007] The U.S. Treasury Department recently held a conference regarding the growing uncompetitiveness of the U.S. corporate tax system in response to a growing number of scholars and heads of large corporations that say the complex and high-rate corporate tax needs to be overhauled.

• Outsourcing's Second Wave?

  [New York Times, October 31, 2007] A new wave of outsourcing could be the globalization of consumer services.

• Google Government

  [Foxnews.com, October 24, 2007] We need policymakers to make significant changes after we all get to see the horror and reckless spending that will be revealed by shining the light on government spending and earmarks.

• The Myth About Middle-Class Job Loss

  [Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2007] The view that the economy has failed the middle class is widespread. The outsourcing of jobs to low-wage countries is the latest culprit with polemicists from all sides find it irresistible to blame expanding trade for middle-class decline.

• Property Tax Rundown

  [The Tax Foundation, October 24, 2007] The Northeast, mainly New Jersey and New York, remains the area with the highest property taxes on homeowners.

• Fannie More

  [Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2007] So determined are Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to "do something" about subprime mortgages that they have come up with a proposal that is unnecessary, will do little to help distressed borrowers, and would increase the risk to taxpayers.

• The 2008 State Business Tax Climate Index

  [Tax Foundation, October 10, 2007] The newly released 2008 State Business Tax Climate Index ranks how "business friendly" the 50 state tax systems are, providing a roadmap for state lawmakers concerned with keeping their states tax-competitive.

• Who Benefits From Inflation Targeting?

  [NBER Digest, October 3, 2007] Targeting nations, especially emerging governments that have achieved their inflation target, see the biggest improvement.

• The Secrets of Intangible Wealth

  [Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2007] "Intangible" capital -- in the form of trust among people in a society, an efficient judicial system, clear property rights or effective government.

• Current Account Surpluses And The Correction Of Global Imbalances

  [NBER Digest, Setpember 27, 2007] A realignment of global growth -- with Japan and the Euro Zone growing faster, and the United States moderating its growth -- would only make a modest contribution towards the resolution of global imbalances.

• Europe's Lagging Service Sector

  [NBER Digest, September 26, 2007] Europe's failure to develop a thriving service sector is the main culprit behind the fact that over the last fifty years, hours worked in Europe have declined by almost 45 percent compared to hours worked in the United States.

• Current Funding Can Create Greater Efficiencies

  [NCPA, September 25, 2007] Economists have traditionally warned that a higher minimum wage will cause more people to be unemployed. But a number of studies point to an even more serious consequence: fewer fringe benefits, including health insurance.

• A Taxing Situation

  [Investor's Business Daily, September 18, 2007] A comparison of the industrialized world's corporate tax rates show America losing its advantage by simply standing still.

• Greenspan's Age of Tranquility

  [The Washington Post, September 19, 2007] Alan Greenspan has called his memoir "The Age of Turbulence," but a more accurate title might have been "The Age of Tranquility."

• The Biggest Tax Haven In Europe

  [The International Herald Tribune, September 17, 2007] Under an obscure piece of British tax legislation, anyone who lives in Britain but was not born there need only pay taxes on the small amount of money they bring into the country every year, and not on their worldwide earnings.

• Mass Transit: Separating Delusion From Reality

  [Heritage Foundation, September 13, 2007] Transit spending has failed to reduce traffic and wasted money that should have been spent on increasing road capacity.

• A Bumper Crop Of Inertia

  [Washington Post, September 12, 2007] The farm legislation proceeding through Congress symbolizes much of what's wrong with Washington. It's government by inertia.

• Economic Freedom Of The World

  [The Cato Institute, September 11, 2007] Is capitalism contagious? If so, to what extent; and how does it spread?

• Trade Fears Are All In Smoke

  [The Cato Institute, September 6, 2007] When Congress reconvenes, committee leaders are expected to begin marking bills that are antagonistic toward our trade partners or outright protectionist, inspired in large measure by the myth of American manufacturing decline.

• Questions To Ask Before Raising The Federal Gas Tax

  [The Tax Foundation, August, 27, 2007] Two proposals have recently been put forth by members of Congress to raise the federal excise tax on gasoline. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has proposed one, along with a carbon tax, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• Poverty Drops As Nation's Income Hits Five-Year High

  [USA Today, August 29, 2007] The nation's median household income rose to $48,200 and the poverty rate fell to 12.3 percent in 2006, the first time this decade that both improved.

• The Big Easy's Billion Dollar Boondoggle

  [TownHall.com, August 30, 2007] The idea of using federal money to rebuild cities is the quintessential liberal vision. And given the dreadful results in New Orleans, we can say that the government's billions spent so far represents the quintessential failure of that liberal vision.

• Proposed U.S. Law Targets Mortgage Tax Break

  [Financial Post, August 27, 2007] Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), is stirring up a hornet's nest over his plan to introduce a new law that would deny Americans with homes larger than 3,000 square feet a cherished mortgage income tax deduction in an effort to discourage energy use.

• How to Raise Revenue

  [Wall Street Journal, August 24, 2007] It is almost an article of faith on Capitol Hill these days that the Bush tax cuts tilted the income tax system in favor of the rich. In reality, this is not true.

• The Tax-Rate Dilemma

  [Washington Times, August 9, 2007] The political case for pro-growth tax policy, as opposed to redistributionist tax policy, is simple. Americans believe no one should have to pay more than 25 percent of income to the government.

• Tax Hike Scorecard

  [Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2007] With a new Democratic majority, the agenda on Capitol Hill has shifted abruptly this year, and no more so than on taxes. Now everywhere you look someone is proposing to raise taxes on some industry or group of Americans.

• Coming Tax Hike

  [National Review, July 30, 2007] Republican tax relief packages in 2001 and 2003 resulted in a booming economy, proving that when government gets out of the way, the American people will get to work, says Senator Jon Kyl.

• The Edwards Tax Plan

  [Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2007] The tax proposals of presidential hopeful John Edwards lays down a big marker in the 2008 campaign tax debate, but it's unclear how easy it would be to implement his ideas.

• Real Federal Tax Burden Is Double If "Collateral Damage" Is Included

  [Investor's Business Daily, July 24, 2007] Paying federal taxes does not make us better off. We are poorer by the amount of tax we pay. And because taxes damage the economy, impeding its growth, our pretax incomes are also smaller.

• Don't Punish Entrepreneurs

  [USA Today, July 23, 2007] Countless Americans have benefited from investment partnerships. But now they are under attack by tax-and-spend politicians who have their sights on American entrepreneurship and retirement savings.

• Our Broken Corporate Tax Code

  [Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2007] The United States is once again a high corporate tax country.

• Financing Projected Spending in the Long Run

  [CQ HealthBeat/News-Medical.net/Congressional Budget Office, July 13, 2007] If health care costs continue to grow at the same rate as the last 40 years and if income taxes are the only mechanism used to pay for the additional costs, tax rates will need to increase substantially by 2050.

• We're Number One, Alas

  [Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2007] Lawmakers recently approved an 8.9 percentage point reduction in the corporate income tax rate. Too bad the tax cutters are Germans, not Americans.

• The Bliss We Can't Buy

  [Washington Post, July 11, 2007] Beyond a certain point -- presumably when people's basic needs for food, shelter, public order and work are met -- greater wealth does not generate more national happiness.

• Here's an Easy Way out of Our Tax Mess (No Joke)

  [American Enterprise Institute, June 25, 2007] Imagine if, in an election year, tens of millions of voters found themselves paying far more tax than they ever anticipated, cutting checks in the thousands of dollars and paying steep penalties. Might that affect the election?

• Warning: Tax Danger Ahead

  [American Enterprise Institute, June 25, 2007] If you're like most people, you've never paid much attention to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). This year, though, what you don't know about the AMT could hurt you.

• A How-To Guide to Raising Americans' Taxes

  [American Enterprise Institute, May 8, 2007] One of the first acts of the new Democratic-controlled Congress was a return to pay-go. Any proposal to reduce taxes will generally be joined with an offsetting tax increase.

• The Global Race for Lower Corporate Tax Rates

  [Cato Institute, June 21, 2007] Thanks to globalization, it is now increasingly easy for capital to cross national borders.

• Federal Aid to the States: Historical Cause of Government Growth and Bureaucracy

  [Cato Institute, May 22, 2007] In recent years, members of Congress have inserted thousands of pork-barrel spending projects into bills to reward interests in their home states. But such parochial pork is only a small part of a broader problem of rising federal spending on traditionally state and local activities.

• Budget Resolution Calls for Massive Tax Hikes and Spending Increases

  [Heritage Foundation, May 17, 2007] With federal spending surging above $24,000 per household per year, the incoming Democratic majority of Congress promised to restore fiscal responsibility in Washington. Instead of paring back the growth of government, however, Congress raised taxes.

• 100 Percent Marginal Tax Rate

  [Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2007] House Democrats have released a draft of their tax plan that would raise the highest income tax rate by 4.3 percentage points to 39.3 percent immediately.

• The End of Cheap Credit?

  [Washington Post, June 13, 2007] The most important price in the American economy is not the price of oil, computer chips, wheat or cars. It's the price of money -- interest rates.

• Flush States

  [Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2007] The Census Bureau has released data on state and local finances for the 2005 fiscal year, and there are a few findings that tax-happy politicos might prefer to keep under wraps.

• New York Can Afford Tax Reform

  [New York Sun, June 8, 2007] New York City's business tax rate dwarfs those of other cities and needs to be reviewed to make the city more competitive.

• Dems Want You To Take a Hike

  [OpinionJournal.com, May 24, 2007] The hottest domestic political issue of the coming two years will be federal income taxes. The Democratic Party is for a big tax increase, via repeal of the Bush tax cuts.

• Tax and Spend Democrats

  [National Review, May 23, 2007] Democrats have passed a budget resolution that would allow most of the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010, but allowing this to happen would constitute the largest tax increase in American history.

• Fault Regular Tax, Not AMT

  [Tax Foundation, May 17, 2007] Congress should not repeal or radically change the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) but instead reform the regular tax code so that it allows less income to go untaxed.

• Tax Increases Ahead: The Impact of the House Budget Resolution, By Congressional District

  [Heritage Foundation, May 7, 2007] The House's budget, if imple­mented, could increase taxes significantly over the next five years, in turn decreasing job growth, reduc­ing personal income, and weakening the economy.

• April Revenue Shower

  [Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2007] Here's the "surge" you aren't reading about: the continuing flood of tax revenue into the federal Treasury.

• Assault on the Investor Class

  [Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2007] The Congressional tax committees have set their sights on the private equity market as a source for new tax revenues.

• Tax Incentives Raise Business Investment

  [National Bureau of Economic Research, April 2007] Tax subsidies for businesses are so strong that, for a sufficiently temporary tax change, firms will bid up the purchase price of investment goods by exactly the amount of the subsidy.

• Homeowners Rebellion

  [Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2007] The great American tax revolt is brewing again, not inside the Washington Beltway, but in cities and states across the country.

• Taxing Times

  [Suburban Journals/Tax Foundation, April 30, 2007] While the deadline for filing state and federal income taxes has come and gone, Americans theoretically won't have earned enough money to pay them until around the end of April.

• Tax Winners and Losers

  [Townhall/Tax Foundation, April 25, 2007] A new study that attemtps to calculate benefits of government spending by income quintile in the same way taxes are calculated shows that government spending is steeply progressive, with those with low incomes receiving far more than those at the top.

• Property Taxes Up as House Prices Fall

  [USA Today, April 25, 2007] Property taxes will keep rising nearly everywhere for homeowners even as house prices are falling in many parts of the country.

• It's Time to Rethink Our Tax System

  [New Hampshire Union Leader, April 22, 2007] Americans spent 6.4 billion hours complying with the tax code in 2005 -- a chunk of time worth $265 billion.

• The Alternative Minimum Tax Soap Opera

  [New Republic, April 13, 2007] The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is presently, it is paid by fewer than four million taxpayers. But without changes in tax law, it could be paid by as many as 32 million in just three years

• By Default, Mugging Taxpayers

  [Heritage Foundation/Washington Post, April 11, 2007] There's about to be a mugging and American taxpayers are the unsuspecting victims. Worse, the cop on the beat is looking the other way.

• Tax Facts

  [Townhall, April 10, 2007] The Tax Foundation and Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have compiled some useful facts about the federal tax system -- just in time for tax filing season.

• Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

  [Kansas City InfoZine/National Priorities Project, April 9, 2007] As taxpayers prepare to meet this year's April 16th tax deadline, they may want to consider that almost 40 cents of every tax dollar is spent on past and present military spending

• Nation's State-Local Tax Burden at Record High

  [Tax Foundation, April 6, 2007] In a year when the nationwide burden of state-local taxes hit an all-time high of 11 percent of income, Vermont's taxpayers are bearing the heaviest load in 2007.

• The New Inflation Equation

  [Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2007] Inflation varies inversely with growth not only in the domestic economy but also with growth in other countries.

• The Coming Tax Increase

  [Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2007] Under the cover of zero media attention, Congressional Democrats are constructing a budget process that will make a tax increase all but inevitable.

• Tax Code Confounds Taxpayers

  [USA Today, April 4, 2007] At 67,204 pages, the tax code is impossibly complex and illustrates the utter contempt Congress has for filers.

• Back to the Future

  [Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2007] House Democrats recently voted to impose the largest tax hike in American history.

• The Senate Budget: A $2,641 Per Household Tax Increase and No Entitlement Reforms

  [Heritage Foundation, March 22, 2007] The Senate Democrats have produced a budget blueprint that raises taxes by $900 billion over five years and a projected $3.3 trillion over ten years.

• A Litte Known Map of Tax Policy

  [American.com, March 15, 2007] If Democrats want a fair solution to the complex and burdensome AMT problem, the simple change would be to prevent any taxpayers from deducting their state taxes from their ordinary federal income tax returns.

• Tax Fairness: Policy and Administration

  [American Enterprise Institute, March 6, 2007] Testimony to the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Washington).

• "Tax Gap" Levies Big Burden on Honest Americans

  [American Enterprise Institute, February 21, 2007] The tax gap is the total difference between taxes owed and taxes paid. For most of us, the gap is zero. But a disturbingly large number of Americans engage in one form of tax dodge or another.

• Economic Growth Without Inflation

  [NCPA, March 9, 2007] The economy can grow at the 3.5 percent average of the past several decades, with low and stable inflation. Recent monetary policy is being helped in the fight against inflation by globalization, productivity gains and other factors.

• Bill Clinton's AMT Bomb

  [Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2007]The politician most responsible for the relentless expansion of the Alternative Minimum in recent years is Bill Clinton.

• The Economic Reprot Of The President

  [Council of Economic Advisers Publications, February 12, 2007] Economic growth in the United States, in 2006, has been above the historic average and faster than any other major industrialized economy in the world.

• Democratic Tax Cutter

  [Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007] Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe may not be a man from Hope, but the newly elected Democrat is becoming a voice for tax relief within his party.

• Democratic Tax Cutter

  [Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007] Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe may not be a man from Hope, but the newly elected Democrat is becoming a voice for tax relief within his party.

• An Undertaxed America?

  [Investor's Business Daily, February 5, 2007] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is contemplating new taxes. But even with a booming economy, thanks to President Bush's tax cuts, Americans are still taxed plenty -- especially investors and entrepreneurs.

• A Spending Sham

  [OpinionJournal.com, January 24, 2007] The PAYGO system reinstated by the Democratic Congress is a spending sham that will only lead to bigger government and higher taxes, says Pete du Pont.

• Tax Cuts Matter

  [Rowman and Littlefield, 2007] The prime purpose of tax cuts is to generate economic activity, and more activity generates more revenues -- with the affluent paying larger shares -- even at the lower rates, says Gene W. Heck, author of "Building Prosperity: Why Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers were Right on the Economy."

• 2007: The Tone May Change But Impact Will Be Limited

  [American Enterprise Institute, January 3, 2007] American economic policy will be set in a new political environment in 2007, with a little more attention to fiscal responsibility and a little more emphasis on populism and economic nationalism.

• Bush's Call For Fiscal Restraint: Entitlement Control is the Key

  [Heritage Foundation, January 5, 2007] President George Bush’s call for a balanced budget and earmark reform is a welcome commitment to fiscal restraint in Washington.

• Dynamic Analysis at Treasury: What Are the Next Steps?

  [Heritage Foundation, December 7, 2006] The President's FY 2007 budget sub­mission to Congress includes a plan to create a Dynamic Analysis Division within the Office of Tax Analysis (OTA), which would gauge the impact on federal tax revenues of the changes in output and incomes induced by changes in tax policy.

• Tax As You Go

  [Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2007] The new Democratic version of PAYGO budget rules for Congress are supposed to look like prudent budgeting practice, but they are really a budget trapdoor designed to make it easier to raise taxes while blocking future tax cuts.

• The Big Economic Worry; Productivity is Slowing

  [Washington Post/U.S. Department of Labor, January 3, 2007] There are few better indicators of our long-term economic prospects than productivity. The good news is that productivity has been growing strongly; the bad news is that it may be moving to a much slower path.

• New Congress Should Call Truce on Tax Credits

  [Tax Foundation, December 28, 2006] Special tax breaks steer private resources in the direction that politicians favor, rather than the marketplace, force up tax rates on the rest of us and serve as a roadblock to fundamental tax reform.

• The Payroll Tax Trap

  [Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2006] Giving in to Democrats and eliminating or substantially raising the payroll tax cap in return for promised future benefit cuts would do little to help future generations' retirement and only hurt economic growth today.

• Watch Your Wallet

  [OpinionJournal.com, December 20, 2006] A preview of the Democrats' economic policies holds little hope, says Pete du Pont, a former governor of Delaware and chairman of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

• Future Tax Policies Should Maximize Economic Growth

  [NCPA Study #292, November 2006] The goal of tax policy should be to maximize economic growth, and tax policies that maximize growth would satisfy the stated goals of policy makers on both the right and the left, says Gerald Scully, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

• A Case for Inflation Targets

  [American Enterprise Institute, October 2006] Unusually high levels of uncertainty regarding the appropriate future paths of monetary policy in the United States and Japan underscores the desirability of adopting inflation targets.

• The Impact of Economic Freedom

  [Fraser Forum, October 4, 2006] The Fraser Institute's "Economic Freedom of the World," has played an important role in advancing the understanding of freedom and efficiency, and has become a key research tool to investigate the impact of economic freedom in countries.

• A Congressman's Work is Never Done

  [National Taxpayers Union, September 13, 2006] With campaigning already well underway, the House and especially the Senate will need to cram in estate tax bills, if they want to avoid the “Do Nothing” moniker.

• How to Spend $2.8 Trillion

  [Cato Institute, August 2006] Government spending consists of just five basic activities: paying workers, buying goods and services, transferring wealth to favored groups, subsidizing state and local governments and paying interest on debt.

• Increasing Economic Freedom Increases Economic Growth

  [NCPA/Fraser Institute, September 26, 2006] States that have lower taxes, smaller government and flexible labor markets tend to have comparatively more economic growth, according to an annual report from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) and Canada's Fraser Institute.

• A Taxing Agenda

  [TCS Daily, August 17, 2006] To paraphrase Marx and Engels: a specter is haunting the Bush Administration, the specter of a nonexistent popular domestic agenda.

• Trade and Economic Growth, Part I

  [NCPA Brief Analysis #552, May 25, 2006] International trade raises the level of GDP in both the importing and exporting country but not the rate of GDP growth.

• Trade and Economic Growth, Part II

  [NCPA Brief Analysis #553, May 25, 2006] There is a strong correlation between successful growth episodes and the rate of export growth. The necessary circumstances for growth can be achieved by liberalizing trade and mobilizing resources through free markets.

• Analyzing the Economic and Budgetary Effects of a 10 Percent Cut in

  [Congressional Budget Office, December 1, 2005] This brief analyzes the macroeconomic effects of a simple tax policy: a 10 percent reduction in all federal tax rates on individual income.

• The Interplay Between Entrepreneurial Activity and Tax Policy

  [Heritage Foundation, November 24, 2004] It is surprising how little attention has been paid to the relationship between entrepreneurship (at all levels) and fed­eral tax policy.

• Why Do Americans Work More Than Europeans ?

  [Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2004] Why do Americans work more than Europeans? The answer lies in the marginal tax rates.

• Why Do Taxes Matter?

  [Video, July 2004] Bruce Bartlett discusses the ideal level of government revenue (taxes) as apercentage of GDP and how marginal tax rates should be structured to raise that revenue.

• The Flawed Concept of Tax Expenditures

  [NCPA, February 13, 2002] A consumption-based tax system, says Bruce Bartlett, would eliminate the overtaxation of capital.

• Taxing Consumption

  [NCPA, October 27, 2003] In a fact-filled column, Bruce Bartlett says, "common sense tells us that people work less when their after-tax reward is reduced. It's good to see that economists finally agree."