The Zion Chronicle

Tag: taxes

  • Politics vs Economics

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    David
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    I am not surprised that there are big ideas that make perfect sense from an economic perspective which are politically unpopular – after all, doing what has been deemed to be politically possible has led us to a dire economic position.

  • Incentives to Get Off Welfare

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    David
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    Another spinoff from the discussion about Equality Under the Law clicked a switch in my brain. Nothing that Anti-PC Infidel says in his post should surprise anyone who has seen the discussion already, but for some reason the following statement made a connection to another issue that I have struggled to resolve for a long…

  • Federalist Nos. 11 – 12

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    David
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    Federalist Nos. 11 – 12 follow the same overarching argument that many of their predecessors followed. It can be boiled down to the truths concerning economies of scale. A larger union has great advantages over a smaller nation in many aspects of government. Number 12, which deals with government revenue, reminded me of a few…

  • Messed Up and Out of Touch

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    David
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    Okay, so the “messed up” and “out of touch” refer to two different things, but I think they both point to the kind of systemic problems that exist in our political system. In response to a post about the Bush tax cuts an anonymous comment reveals this: I made about $47,000 and I paid $1700…

  • Block Grants

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    David
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    When I read The Coming Crisis of Big Government I gained a measure of hope that there might be some possibility left for averting the crisis of our soon-to-balloon costs for social security and Medicare. One of the central examples in the article relate to the use of block grants to restructure some of the…

  • Proud To Pay My Share

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    David
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    I liked the sentiments expressed by Chad at UtahOpinions about paying a fair share for government. It’s easy to accuse those who advocate for smaller government of being stingy, selfish, or just not wanting to work for the best good of society, but many people feel like this: Believe it or not I am proud…

  • Income vs Consumption

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    David
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    I found it fascinating to read You Are What You Spend to see how different the economic picture is depending on the way we measure economic position. . . . renewed attention is being given to the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. Most of this debate, however, is focused on the wrong…

  • Why We Need A Tax Debate

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    David
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    If anyone wonders why I think we need a tax debate here’s a good example. Congress passed their omnibus spending bill and today Senator Bennett announces that he got $290 Million for Utah in the bill. The assumption underlying his announcement is that any money he brings to the state from the federal government is…

  • A Tax Debate Would Be Wise

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    David
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    Apparently the New York Times would like to have a public debate about taxes. The editorial board expresses their despair that none of the presidential candidates talk about taxes. I think that they are completely right that such a debate is necessary. Beyond that it seems that there is hardly anything that we agree about…

  • The FairTax

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    David
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    I began to take a closer look at the FairTax proposal because Mike Huckabee (currently the most visible supporter of the FairTax) is rising quickly in the polls and also because I have had some co-workers ask my opinion on the proposal. My immediate answer was, “I want more details.” I read two articles on…