statism

The French National Sport Is Taxation, not Soccer

"It seems that Monaco’s fiscal policy is good for the local soccer team. But it seems there’s a controversy in this fiscal paradise. Or, to be more accurate, there’s a controversy in the tax hell next door. The French are complaining that lower tax rates are an 'unfair' form of tax competition. So how did the French react? By engaging in their true national sport – imposing higher taxes. Naturally, their 'solution' is to impose higher taxes in Monaco, not to lower taxes in France. It’s also worth noting that the French approach won’t work. The French soccer league will continue to lose top players so long as the government has a 75% tax system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe French National Sport Is Taxation, not Soccer

Tempers fray in France as drastic cuts loom

"President Francois Hollande has already angered much of his own Socialist base with plans to cut spending next year in absolute terms for the first time since 1958, but this may be just start of the battle. The Cour des Comptes said France is not even 'halfway' through its fiscal squeeze. The warnings came as a blizzard of grim news dashed hopes for a rapid recovery from two years of slump. A recent study by Pew Foundation said French support for the European Project has crashed from 60pc to 40pc over the past year. Just 22pc now think EU economic integration is positive." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTempers fray in France as drastic cuts loom

Very Bad News for Europe’s Young People

"Big business, big labor, and big government are getting together and considering a €100 billion slush fund that will line their pockets. They want us to believe this will lead to more jobs for young people, but they overlook (and hope we’re unaware of) Bastiat’s warning about the seen and the unseen. Expanding the EIB will simply divert resources from more productive uses. So what’s the answer? Here’s what I recommended as part of some speeches earlier this month in Europe. I began with what should be a common-sense observation that businesses won’t create jobs unless they think new workers will add to the bottom line." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVery Bad News for Europe’s Young People

Is There Hope for Recent College Grads?

"Since the great recession, the labor market has become an especially difficult place for recent college graduates. The unemployment rate for 22-year-olds jumped from 4.5% in 2000 — at the tail end of a historic technology boom — to 10.3% in the 2009 — 2011 period, according to a presentation Thursday by researchers at the New York Fed. Possibly more concerning is the spike in underemployment among younger workers. Those are recent graduates who have jobs that don’t require a degree, such as a salesperson in a retail store, a food server or even an electrician. In 2001 the underemployment rate fell to as low at 35%, but last year it rose to 44%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs There Hope for Recent College Grads?

By Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

"America has a very costly and inefficient government school monopoly. The strongest piece of evidence is an amazing chart put together by a Cato colleague. It shows that education spending has skyrocketed while educational performance has stagnated. We’ve now surpassed Switzerland to become the biggest spenders on education. But we still get a crummy return on all that money that is spent. One reason the system is so expensive is that we squander so much money on bureaucratic overhead. But I guess we need all those paper pushers so we can stop little kids from engaging in terrorist behavior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBy Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

More than half of Americans disapprove of Obamacare

"A majority of Americans say Obamacare will make things worse for their families and the nation overall, a poll released on Thursday found, highlighting the challenges his administration still faces in winning over the public. Overall, the survey of nearly 2,050 adults showed 52 percent disapprove of the 2010 law aimed at expanding access to health insurance for millions of people, according to Gallup. Another 44 percent said they back the changes. Among those polled, 42 percent said it would make their family’s healthcare situation worse while 33 percent said it would have little impact. Just 22 percent said they thought it would help, the poll showed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore than half of Americans disapprove of Obamacare

Obamacare could eat up your raise

"Expecting to get a raise next year? It could be eaten up by your health care bill. In an effort to meet the affordability requirement of the Affordable Care Act, which kicks in next year and requires that workers spend no more than 9.5% of their income on premiums, more employers are turning to insurance plans in which premiums vary based on a person’s salary, rather than having all workers pay a flat rate. That way, employees who make more money pay bigger premiums. While the strategy, which some employers have been using for decades, is still not mainstream, more companies are adopting the system as a way to prepare for the health reform law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare could eat up your raise

Bitcoin Exchange Makes Apparent Move to Play by U.S. Money-Laundering Rules

"FinCen in March started applying traditional money-laundering rules to 'virtual currencies' amid growing concern that new forms of digital cash are being used for illicit activities. Those rules mandate that exchanges register with FinCen, follow stricter bookkeeping requirements and report transactions of more than $10,000. About a month after the edict, the Department of Homeland Security seized an account tied to Mt. Gox, alleging the company and a subsidiary were conducting transactions 'as part of an unlicensed money service business.' According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Makes Apparent Move to Play by U.S. Money-Laundering Rules

Homeland Security Is A Racket Twice Over

"Since the government has created the problem of terrorism while fraudulently denying that it has, and then in building up the DHS has fraudulently offered a non-solution to solve the problem of its own making, the DHS is a racket twice over. Actually, since the DHS's activities actively invade everyone's rights, it is a racket thrice over. None of us would have any expectation of systematic terrorism against Americans in America if there were not a U.S. empire that systematically intrudes in lands where it doesn't belong. Retaliations from these places take time, sometimes decades. The U.S. is breeding new terrorists all the time and in more and more places." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Is A Racket Twice Over

Edward Snowden and Joshua Glover

"The comparisons to Edward Snowden are obvious: 'why did Glover flee Missouri? Why didn't he stay in Missouri and 'work within the system' to gain his liberty?' Yeah, the same way so many other slaves had secured their freedom! With the help of its lapdog media - with which neither Booth nor Glover had to contend - the federal government demands of Russia what it demanded of Wisconsin in the mid-19th century: the return of one of its subjects." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden and Joshua Glover