We must make painful choices, the New York Times’ editorial board scolds us.  Why? Because otherwise we’ll be borrowing too much. And borrowing is expensive!  Since the essence of the Times’ editorial is about money, let’s think for a moment about what “money” means. Money could be the paper currency in your wallet.  But it is more likely to be your checking account balance, that … Continue reading Our View: New York Times’ Austerity Recommendations Are Unwise »

It’s been a full decade now since I first predicted or, really, warned, that America would have its first trillionaire before 2040.  I stand by that warning today. Unfortunately, everything I said ten years ago has aged well. Too well, in my opinion. I explained how tax policy was supercharging the accumulation of obscene fortunes in America. Policy makers, I noted, had lifted the lid … Continue reading The First Trillionaire: No Cause for Celebration »

Regressivity, defined as the opposition to progress or returning to a former, less advanced state, is not a description to which policymakers should aspire. Yet, overall, state and local tax policy is regressive, in many cases obscenely so. According to the most recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state and local tax burden, as a percentage of income, of those … Continue reading State Tax Policy: The Growing and Unsustainable Divergence »

Is centi-billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos now writing the paper’s editorials himself? Of course not. But the Post editorial board’s recent rant, Meta’s stock plunge shows the right – and wrong – way to tax wealth, could make the objective reader wonder otherwise. It’s not that the Post’s arguments against current proposals to tax the rich so obviously would favor Bezos. Editorial board members shouldn’t abstain from opining on an issue … Continue reading Why Do Billionaires So Love Owning Newspapers? »