March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

Does government know what’s best for your child? California thinks so. This article begins:

Parents of the approximately 200,000 home schooled children in California are reeling from the possibility that they may have to shutter their classrooms - and go back to school themselves, if they want to continue teaching their own kids. On Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children ages six to 18 may be taught only by credentialed teachers in public or private schools - or at home by mom and dad but only if they have a teaching degree. Citing state law that goes back to the early 1950s, Croskey declared that “California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children.” Furthermore, the judge wrote, if instructors teach without credentials they will be subject to criminal action.

Posted in General post | No Comments »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

This WSJ opinion begins:

When I was president of the Dallas Fed, Alan Greenspan wouldn’t let me, or other members of the Federal Open Market Committee (including himself), talk about the dollar. The dollar was so sacred, or so fragile, that only Treasury secretaries were allowed to discuss it — but convention silenced them too.

Posted in General post | 1 Comment »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

How long will the commodities boom (bubble?) last?

Posted in General post | No Comments »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

Since I love BIG OIL, I like to read articles like this one. Gas may not be cheap in historical terms, but it’s cheaper than all other viable, comparable fuel sources.

Posted in General post | No Comments »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

The Tax Foundation has data on historical tax rates.

Posted in General post | No Comments »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

Federal Reserve Governor on exchange rates and inflation. He concludes:

Now let me summarize the lessons from the empirical evidence on exchange rate pass-through. Sizeable depreciations of the nominal exchange rate exert fairly small effects on consumer prices across a wide set of industrial countries, and these effects have declined over the past two decades. Exchange rate depreciations are thus likely to have less adverse effects on inflation than they have had in the past. The empirical evidence also indicates that pass-through from exchange rates to import prices is low and has declined markedly over the past two decades. This evidence suggests that there may be a weaker relationship between exchange rate fluctuations and nominal demand than prevailed in the past, which may make it easier for monetary policy to stabilize inflation and real activity. Nevertheless, exchange rate fluctuations can still have an effect on inflation and economic activity; hence, monetary policy must continue to take these fluctuations into account to ensure that inflation expectations remain well anchored and that fluctuations in economic activity are minimized.

Posted in General post | 1 Comment »

March 8, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

Instead of worrying about keeping their own taxes low and competitive, some big countries like Germany are pressuring smaller ones into cooperating in their tax-evasion investigations. Matt Lynn explains. He begins:

There has been little mistaking the fury of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Over the past few weeks, she has been leading an all-out assault on her tiny neighbor Liechtenstein.

Its crime? Not cooperating in Germany’s investigation of alleged tax evaders.

The tussle between Germany and Liechtenstein is just the overture to a wider battle between the big European nations and the tiny low-tax principalities. Next up: Monaco and Andorra.

And yet, the attacks are completely unfair.

Places such as Monaco and Liechtenstein have a right to keep banking secrecy and shouldn’t be forced to act as tax enforcers for other countries. Germany should spend more time worrying about why so much wealth is fleeing its borders — and less time picking on places a mere fraction of their size.

Posted in General post | No Comments »