Category Archives: Economics

Miscellaneous economy stuff

Alphabet Objects

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Alphabet, through its Google subordinate, objects to the White House’s and JCS’ characterization of it as aiding our enemy, the People’s Republic of China.

An anonymous (perhaps because he’s speaking without Google management’s permission, perhaps because he, or that management, is embarrassed by his claims) Google spokesperson said

We are not working with the Chinese military. We are working with the US government, including the Department of Defense, in many areas including cybersecurity, recruiting and healthcare.

Yet Alphabet has withdrawn Google from working with our defense establishment on drone or artificial intelligence technologies that could be used for active defense of our nation.

This is a preview of Alphabet Objects. Read the full post (206 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)

A Governor Misrepresents

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New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo (D), has provided another example of the dishonesty of Progressive-Democrats as he continues to whine about his State’s excessive State and local taxes no longer being deductible above a high maximum on Federal income tax forms.

He said Trump intentionally targeted states whose populations oppose him by a majority.

And

You pay your state income tax, they then tax your state income tax payment. First time ever.

This is a preview of A Governor Misrepresents. Read the full post (416 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

A No-Deal Brexit

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The Wall Street Journal opined earlier this week that, in the words of the piece’s subheadline,

A no-deal crash out of the EU may be the best outcome now.

The rest of the thing was a string of rationalizations of why this is true, but the heart of the matter is that subhead.

In fact, though, a no-deal departure always has been the best outcome.

A priori because that’s what the Brits voted for in their referendum—they wanted their sovereignty and control of their own borders back. Full stop.

This is a preview of A No-Deal Brexit. Read the full post (272 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

Medical Services Price Transparency

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Hospital and insurers want to keep their pricing agreements hidden from those who must pay those prices, especially those who must pay under the duress of huge costs and the immediacy of the need for medical services.

Hospitals and insurers are gearing up to battle a Trump administration plan that could require the public disclosure of negotiated prices for medical services, part of an effort to lower US health-care costs.

Because price transparency facilitates competition, which in a capitalist, free-market economy helps drive costs down.  But hospitals and insurers insist

This is a preview of Medical Services Price Transparency. Read the full post (490 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

EU Should Make Concessions?

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That’s British Minister Theresa May’s plea to Brussels.

…the decisions that the European Union makes over the next few days will have a big impact on the outcome of the [parliamentary] vote. …  [L]et’s not hold back. Let’s do what is necessary for MPs to back the deal on Tuesday.

The EU functionaries have been playing you for a fool for a year and a half. This is confirmed by the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier:

EU commits to give UK the option to exit the Single Customs Territory unilaterally….

This is a preview of EU Should Make Concessions?. Read the full post (159 words, estimated 38 secs reading time)

An Experiment in Progressivism

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This one has the advantage of being live and current. The Progressive-Democratic Party has extended its control over the State of California.  The results accumulating from the several years of Progressive-Democratic dominance (now outright control) are these.  California has

  • the highest welfare numbers (a third of all Americans on welfare live in California)
  • the largest contingent of illegal immigrants
  • a burgeoning homeless population
  • onerous regulations on business and private property
  • mediocre public schools
  • high income taxes (the highest marginal rate is 13.3%) and sales taxes
  • a yawning gap between rich and poor
This is a preview of An Experiment in Progressivism. Read the full post (169 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)

French Tax, Tax, Tax

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Now the French have decided to add another tax on American multinationals—a 3% “digital-services” tax on companies that do “targeted advertising or run[] a digital marketplace,” a tax aimed in particularly at Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire:

These giants use your personal data and make a significant profit from it, without paying their fair share of tax[.]

This is a preview of French Tax, Tax, Tax. Read the full post (186 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Tax the Rich

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Of course, tax the rich, but tax everyone else, too.  The latest get (the) rich quick scheme, this one offered by Alan Davis, The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund President and ex-founder and CEO of Conservatree Paper Company, though, falls into the same trap that all the other Progressive-Democrat schemes—Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D, MA) wealth tax, Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I, VT) estate tax expansion, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ (D, NY) 70% marginal tax—do.  What Davis is proposing is

a 10% surtax on the earnings (including both income and capital gains) of the top 0.1% of taxpayers

This is a preview of Tax the Rich. Read the full post (345 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Tax, Tax, Tax

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The Progressive-Democrats want more.  It’s almost like an OPM addiction.

Now they’ve proposed the Wall Street Tax Act of 2019, which is intended to charge traders and investors a price for the privilege (apparently) of investing in economic products.  Their bill would

impose a tax on the purchase of most securities—including stocks and bonds—and on transactions involving derivatives. The tax would be about 0.1% of the value of the security or 0.1% of all payments made under the terms of a derivative contract.

Because Progressive-Democrats just can’t get enough of our money.

This is a preview of Tax, Tax, Tax. Read the full post (190 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

Never Worked…Doesn’t

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In Great Britain, unemployment is the lowest it’s been in over four decades, and employment is commensurately high.  But that’s a misleading datum.

[A]n astonishing 3.6 million adults have never been paid for work, official figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

That’s 10% of the (chronologically) adult population in Great Britain.  Of the “young adult” demographic—those in the 16-24 age range—a truly astonishing 71% have never worked for pay.  Not a single hour.

The British economy isn’t in the doldrums over Brexit or no-deal Brexit.  Not at all.

This is a preview of Never Worked…Doesn’t. Read the full post (124 words, estimated 30 secs reading time)