Former Securities & Exchange Commission commissioner Paul Atkins recently published two essays worthy of careful reading. This one is at Forbes.com; this one is at the Wall Street Journal.
Here’s the final entry of my three-part series, in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, analogizing the economy to a huge jigsaw puzzle. (The nature of the analogy changed somewhat from essay one to essay three; still, I believe that insight can be gained by pondering this analogy.)
Paul Jacob applies common sense to highlight an instance of ‘localism’ gone berzerk.
Carpe Diem’s Mark Perry is justly upset about farm-subsidy inequality!
Where do libertarians belong? This conversation, from Reason, between Jonah Goldberg, Matt Kibbe, and Brink Lindsey is entertaining and enlightening.
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I only have one nit to pick with Paul Atkins.
The “newly” politicized SEC. Puhleeez!
I hate the WSJ paywall.
Regarding the income tax bite of NY that was likely a part of LeBron's decision to take the Miami gig, the same tax issue also makes the teams of high-tax states successful. In most team sports, the quality of the role players can be the difference between winning and losing when the stars cancel each other out. This means, that tax bite may mean more to an earner of $2-5 million sub than to the $15-20 million star. The lower earner looks at his earning potential as bleaker as their advertising and other income does not have the luster as the stars. These guys flush through millions quicker than anyone in society. They need every $100,000 they can retain.
Just google the article title and you can read the whole article for free. I know it is a bit of a hassle but much better than paying for a subscription.
The Reason article was interesting. I found it funny that Brink Lindsey chose to focus on the 57% (I don't recall the actual percent and am too lazy to look it up) that still look favorably at W. rather than the 43% that don't. Or the 40% that want “no legal recognition of same sex unions” rather than the 60% that do.
For a group that he dismisses by calling them, essentially, republicans in libertarian clothing — 43% don't like the former republican president and 60% don't have a problem with same sex unions (disregarding whether they would call it “marriage” or not).
I think this is a great thing. Go Tea Party! Keep it up boys!
It is a very good article, and I don't think Mr. Goldberg really repudiated what Mr. Lindsey wrote. Nevertheless, it points to a very interesting dilemma for libertarians: we have to “hitch our wagon” to somebody else's team of horses to get some things going our way, so to speak. But everyone else's team of horses is also hitched to their own wagons, which we cannot get away from once we're riding along. I think it's a paradox, and am unsure of any resolution that would lead to libertarians keeping their principles and gaining any political power.
There have been a lot of LeBron tax stories, but up next George Steinbrenner tax stories. What would the Yankees have looked like if Steinbrenner had died next year and they broke up the team to pay the estate tax?
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