You are currently browsing the Armchair Economist weblog archives for the day January 8, 2008.
- General post (802)
- April 3, 2008: Armchair Economist gets a much-needed update
- April 3, 2008: Ghost of Herbert Hoover
- April 3, 2008: Are you smarter than a high-schooler?
- April 3, 2008: Katrina hero: Wal-Mart
- April 2, 2008: No Child Left Behind
- April 2, 2008: The poverty hype
- April 2, 2008: Oil profits
- April 2, 2008: Don's response
- April 2, 2008: Oil refinements
- April 1, 2008: My profile
Archive for January 8, 2008
More FairTax flaws
January 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.
This opinion lists some more FairTax issues. Notable:
And what about transition rules? There are millions of transactions that are, at any given moment, occurring over an extended time. The most obvious example is retirement. I defer taxes now, for retirement later. So I make a decision based on an income-tax regime that doesn’t make any sense in a sales-tax regime. Do I get my money back? What about Roth IRAs? I pay income taxes on the money now, and then pay again later when I spend it during retirement? Double taxation isn’t really a “fair” tax, is it?
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Hollywood donations to candidates
January 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.
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No way
January 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.
Don Boudreaux quotes an email that tells us the government wants to start controlling our thermostats.
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More guns, please
January 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.
Michigan sees fewer gun deaths with more gun permits.
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Monopoly
January 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.
It’s great to have monopoly pricing power, and the power to punish those who challenge it. Tennessee has been cracking down on smokers who have been comparison shopping across state lines. Why isn’t this a restriction on interstate commerce? Is this not comparable to the results of state-imposed tariff? I quess looking for deals across state lines is prohibited when it adversely impacts a government. If I were NC, however, the place were Tennesseans like to purchase their smokes, I’d challenge. Notice, also, the government’s interests tend to always trump the individual’s interests. Summary:
“The state Revenue Department says it is ending its surveillance program to catch people bringing too many cigarettes into Tennessee to avoid higher taxes. Commissioner Reagan Farr tells The Associated Press that the program accomplished its goal of educating people that only 20 packs can legally be transported across state lines. Farr says his department will still enforce the law, but it won’t conduct scheduled surveillance of tobacco stores in neighboring states. Revenue agents seized more than 31,000 packs of cigarettes from September through the end of December. The state launched the program because its cigarette tax in July jumped higher than its eight neighbors — from 20 cents a pack to 62 cents.”
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