Comments on The Last Debate: Huckanomics

Here again, I find myself sighing and agreeing wit...

2008-01-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

Here again, I find myself sighing and agreeing with Gino. This candy-man-plan has the support of both parties, because they all see that it contains absurdly tiny elements of good which will appear to lemmingMerikkka as though something useful and good is being done by the lazy fucktards in Congress. Of course, it's just nose-picking and dick-twiddling that will make no substantive improvement, as usual.

its a dumb idea. and it has bipartsan support, fur...

2008-01-29T20:22:00.000-05:00

its a dumb idea.
and it has bipartsan support, further proof that its a dumb idea.
heh ;).

What puzzles me is that every time the question of...

2008-01-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

What puzzles me is that every time the question of funding public transit comes up, it's always something that is too expensive and too necessarily expansive to be realistic (meaning that any project would have to be utterly enormous to be effective). And yet, here's $150 billion for miniscule tax rebates.

I wonder if you could build a subway system in Dallas for that? Or expand the limited one in LA? Even cities with great public transit like New York and Chicago have huge holes with great swaths of the city un- or underserved. And these systems could definitely stand to be modernized, especially New York's over 100 year old system that shuts down every time there's a heavy rain.

Public transit systems not only are great public works projects in and of themselves, but make everyone's lives easier. And the effect on the environment could be massive.

Ian: this article in Slate did give me significant...

2008-01-29T00:38:00.000-05:00

Ian: this article in Slate did give me significant pause for thought a while back, and I agree with the Governor that our tax code needs a radical overhaul and simplification.

Full disclosure: I am not an economist or a tax expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I do coincidentally work in the tax department of a Fortune 500 company so I've heard some thoughts on this plan and formulated my own.

I think it is highly unlikely that a 23% tax can pull in the income necessary to run the federal government; it may require a rate as high as 40-50%, which then wouldn't be a net tax benefit to anyone and would be an adverse development for a majority of the country. I think it would be particularly hard-hitting for the bottom rungs of the economic ladder, where people live paycheck to paycheck and would then be significantly taxed on their entire income. I also worry that a giant national sales tax would give rise to a thriving black market economy.

I think he's on the right track, that what we need is a simplification of the tax structure. The idea of an equal burden is attractive, but when you look at the math a "flat tax" will disproportionately burden lower-income folks. Simply put, rich people can afford more. I think unearned income (capital gains, inheritance, lottery) should be taxed at a significantly higher rate. I think the corporate tax rate could be reduced if a lot of the loopholes were closed and some of the big companies were forced to pay their share. I am totally in favor of progressive taxation, and while I think Huckabee means well, I don't think it will ultimately have the effect he desires.

Great article. Yes, I'm very impressed with Gov. H...

2008-01-29T00:13:00.000-05:00

Great article. Yes, I'm very impressed with Gov. Huckabee's take on the stimulus. However, I think you're giving the FairTax an unfair shake.

Review some research I posted at Slate. Gov. Huckabee did an excellent job of discussing the way it would facilitate the pursuit of wealth for families, and in a CNBC interview, discussed its importance for business and global trade.

but would you be more stimulated with $20,000?i to...

2008-01-28T22:55:00.000-05:00

but would you be more stimulated with $20,000?

i tongue-in-cheeked this one last nite.

its a dumb idea.
and it has bipartsan support, further proof that its a dumb idea.