Almost Classical

Though I don't assume Sen. Bernie Sanders will be the Democratic Party nominee for president, I do assume the next president will respond to populist outrage against corporations (especially those in the financial sector). As a result of this populism on the left and right (Tea Party and Occupy having the same vitriol for Crony Capitalism), there is little hope for meaningful corporate tax reform. Ignorance (or feigned ignorance) on issues of economics seems to underpin the campaigns of all four leading candidates as we enter the "home stretch" of primaries. From Donald Trump swearing to raise taxes to 30 percent on companies that leave the United States to Bernie Sanders claiming that we must shift the tax burden (income taxes are already progressive, the "burden" tends to be sales and other local or state taxes that do penalize the poor, not income tax). The United States needs tax reform, of both the personal (household) income tax system and the corpor...

The Statue of Liberty front shot, on Liberty Island. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It's hard, really hard to make it big in America. Well, yes, success takes work, especially if you are trying to start a business, but some in the media and within academia seem to want to convince their audiences that unless you are born wealthy and white, there's almost no hope at all of living the American Dream. The United States does have widening inequality. There are complex explanations for this, including the fact that our wealthy are wealthier (on average and at median) than the wealthy elsewhere. Income inequality, which isn't the same as wealth inequality , is also increasing for many complex reasons. But, there are actual signs that more people can and do start businesses. You wouldn't know that, though, based on how some present research data to the public. The following article from Quartz ( The Atlantic ) is so flawed, statistically and philosophically, it demonst...

The Inaugural Address reveals a lot about Pres. Obama. President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address - Washington Wire - WSJ :  Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character. I wish I could believe he meant those words, but too often it seems Pres. Obama has faith in central planning, that bureaucrats do know best what is "right" for the rest of us. He is insufficiently skeptical of government, its expertise, and its power. The next section is more along the lines of "You didn't build that…" (a statement I and many others have explored in context of his full campaign speech). The president reminds us that "collectively" we stand. A false argument, since nobody is arguing against all gov...

Today, the Pew Research Center released the following: The American-Western European Values Gap It should be no surprise that Americans value personal freedom more than they value a social safety net. The United States is a nation built by explorers who managed to survive frontiers. Even immigrants celebrate the rugged individualism of our national heros. A table of the survey findings: Notice that the data are mirror images. Europe has a different history, one shaped by two world wars and various upheavals. Neither approach is "right" or "wrong" — but I definitely fall in the personal freedom camp. I do not trust governments to solve problems and would rather be left alone to succeed or fail, as much as possible. Most Americans support a minimal safety net, but nothing comparable to the European welfare state. Individualism and the Role of the State In the U.S., Britain, France and Germany, views of the role of the state divide significantly acro...

CNN and other news outlets are reporting that Europeans prefer Obama to McCain by a 5:1 ratio. CNN: Cafferty File Why do we care do much about European opinions? These people don't have a single popular leader in their own nations. France's president is below 30% in the polls, Number 10 is (ironically) between 10 and 20% favorable, and even Germany, with a decent economy, doesn't give majority approval to the chancellor. So, these are relatively unhappy people, politically. They are beyond cynical — they're just plain unhappy. Part of the problem is that when you have a parliamentary system, the leaders in power seldom win leadership posts with a clear majority. You can cobble a parliamentary majority together with a 30% plurality and a dozen smaller, usually more radical, political parties. The end result is that no one is content. But, there is a larger reason: their systems, which they resoundingly claim are better than the U.S. system and our economic mode...