Sep 19
In 1978, courageous Californians circulated and passed a forward-thinking ballot initiative known as Proposition 13. Under Proposition 13, the annual real estate tax on a parcel of property is limited to 1% of its assessed value. In the years that followed, real estate became something of a tax shelter even as the vampire-like California legislature …
Aug 31
America rose to prosperity, abundance and prominence with some of the world’s lowest taxes and the fewest regulations. Property rights and a climate of individual ingenuity and industry brought Americans the world’s highest standards of living. But the past two generations have seen America’s progress arrested. Now taxes take almost half of many Americans’ income. …
Aug 29
Throughout the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s the people of Denmark were the most capitalistic on earth. Their merchants sailed the seas and transacted in goods throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The people of Denmark (and Scandanavia generally) became the richest on earth. That foundation of wealth sustained them throughout the 1900s. But …
Aug 27
To put numbers in perspective, the entire state budget of Montana is less than $5 billion annually. Many other states operate on annual budgets of less than $5 or $10 annually. A study by the Mercatus Center has recently found that Americans spend $67 billion to $378 billion in annual accounting costs in the process of …
Jul 22
Governments worldwide propose “energy policies,”–subsidizing some energy firms while taxing and overregulating others. Picking winners and loses by obstructing free markets. For decades, U.S. lawmakers have been subsidizing “alternative energy” schemes that would never work without government support. “The first justification was that internal combustion engines polluted too much. But emissions steadily declined, and today’s …
Jun 06
Hartford, Connecticut is typical of eastern cities in that its voters have placed great trust in government management. Connecticut is a wealthy state with thousands of high-earners who work in the insurance industry, and in the greater New York City area. But the State’s tax rates are among the nation’s highest. Hartford, the capitol city, …
Jun 03
Connecticut income-tax collections declined last year for the first time since the recession due to lower earnings of wealthy residents. Many of Connecticut’s millionaires have fled for lower-tax states. In the past five years 27,400 Connecticut residents have moved to no-income-tax Florida. According to the Wall Street Journal, one of Connecticut’s largest companies, Aetna Insurance, …
May 01
America rose to greatness and prosperity because of its low taxes, property rights and culture of nonregulation. Over the past century, however, trusters of government have fundamentally altered America’s governmental structure. Today, American economic growth is stagnant, and prosperity is increasingly elusive. See here.
Apr 09
Some (but not all) Americans are aware that all banks are required to report to the IRS whenever a customer deposits or withdraws cash in the amount of $10,000 or more. The stated aim of this federal law is to catch criminal activity such as money laundering and drug trafficking. Often, the IRS swoops in …
Apr 03
The District of Columbia has decreed that the directors of any licensed “Child Development Centers” — or day care — must have a “Bachelor of Arts (BA) in early childhood education or a BA with at least 15 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2022.” The regs also mandate that “teachers” possess at …
