Wealth tax

March 06, 2020

Bernie Sanders’ pagan view of charity

Bernie Sanders holds a pagan view of charity. I mean that not in a pejorative but in a denotative sense: Sanders’ preference for government programs over private philanthropy echoes that of ancient pagan rulers. Continue Reading...

January 30, 2020

This policy would destroy $11.5 trillion of U.S. wealth

A presidential season is a time of policies, proposals, and promises. All will guarantee they will increase national wealth and well-being, but history and rational analysis show that some reforms will hurt the very voters who support them. Continue Reading...

January 23, 2020

Global wealth inequality has been falling: Report

“Economic inequality is out of control,” according to Oxfam, which releases a dire-sounding report about inequality every year on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The 2020 edition faults the supposed “dominance of neoliberal economics, which values deregulation and reduction in public spending,” and the alleged existence of “monopolies,” for “accelerating economic inequality.” Continue Reading...

November 22, 2019

Fact check: 5 facts about the fifth Democratic debate of 2019

The Democratic Party narrowed the number of presidential hopefuls to 10 at the fifth debate, held Wednesday in Atlanta. Several of their statements deserve greater scrutiny. 1. Elizabeth Warren: Freeloading billionaires? Continue Reading...

September 25, 2019

What you need to know about Bernie Sanders’ ‘Tax on Extreme Wealth’

Senator Bernie Sanders announced his new “Tax on Extreme Wealth” proposal by tweeting, “Billionaires should not exist.” Under his wealth tax plan, far fewer would. Billionaires should not exist. https://t.co/hgR6CeFvLa — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 24, 2019 There should be no billionaires. Continue Reading...

September 18, 2019

Fact check: Did the wealth tax increase the number of millionaires?

“If you want less of something, tax it,” the old adage goes. If that is the case, why is a prominent European newspaper reporting that the number of millionaires increased after one nation introduced a wealth tax? Continue Reading...

September 13, 2019

Fact check: 5 facts about the third Democratic debate of 2019

The Democratic Party held its third presidential debate on Thursday night. The 10 hopefuls made at least five proposals that were based on erroneous premises or that would harm the country. Continue Reading...

January 25, 2019

What you need to know about Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax

On Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced on Twitter that she will institute a wealth tax if she is elected president in 2020. Here are the facts you need to know: Warren tweeted her plan on Thursday afternoon. Continue Reading...

April 24, 2014

Capital Then and Now

Speaking of Thomas Piketty, here’s a very helpful and revealing interview with Matthew Yglesias, “Thomas Piketty doesn’t hate capitalism: He just wants to fix it.” (HT: PEG) A few highlights with some comment: On the need for a historical perspective in economics: Thomas Piketty: … It’s not only economists’ fault. Continue Reading...