Economic Reality and Tax Policy; Revisit Reagan Tax Cuts

Tax policy pundits and left leaning ideologues prefer to malign Reagan Tax Cuts and Supply Side Economics. However, their criticism is often devoid of facts and analysis. Oftentimes they confuse other influences on the economy. In a more recent revisiting of tax policy, many left leaning policy makers prefer to blame low tax rates for the economic crises and recession of 2007 through 2009. (We need an adult conversation on the "Great Recession" which has not been part of the media dialogue.)

With a new administration in Washington, DC and a focus on economic growth, an informed awareness of the effects of tax policies is very important. While data supports the arguments that lower taxes lead to greater economic growth, there is also a role for common sense.

People want more of what they keep. If government confiscates more of your effort and production with higher taxes, than most people will be less motivated to produce income and wealth. Is that not just common sense?

Simple Truth -
Lower taxes are good policy especially when current rates place workers or businesses at a competitive disadvantage. 

The economist most associated with advocacy for lower tax rates is Dr. Art Laffer who is associated with "Supply Side Economics." Here is his analysis of the economic impacts of Reagan Tax Cuts. It is worth reading and understanding.

Link to Laffer Paper on Reagan Tax Cuts

Holding the Media Accountable for Bias

The media apologists are out in full force, outraged over the recent "President-Elect" tongue lashing given to some in the media. While there are no official reports about the meeting, other media outlets have whined about PEOTUS "clearing the air". The point of this analysis is not to defend PEOTUS but simply point out the role of the media in our public discourse. Here are the Simple Facts:

Best Books; Hillbilly Elegy - Crises in the Culture of Poor White America

From American Conservative
By Rod Dreher - July 22, 2016

"I wrote last week about the new nonfiction book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, the Yale Law School graduate who grew up in the poverty and chaos of an Appalachian clan. The book is an American classic, an extraordinary testimony to the brokenness of the white working class, but also its strengths. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. With the possible exception of Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic, for Americans who care about politics and the future of our country, Hillbilly Elegy is the most important book of 2016. You cannot understand what’s happening now without first reading J.D. Vance. His book does for poor white people what Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book did for poor black people: give them voice and presence in the public square. This interview I just did with Vance in two parts (the final question I asked after Trump’s convention speech) shows why."

Trump: Tribune of Poor White People - American Conservative

Apprenticeships - An Option for America's Youth

A college education is not everyone’s cup of tea. The United States needs other ways to instill job skills in the younger generation. Could apprenticeships be the answer?


Cato: Are Apprenticeships the New College?

America's Debt Crises Explained - Prager U

America has nearly $20 Trillion in Debt which is expected to increase $500 billion per year. The total debt increased $10 trillion in last 8 years. A significant amount of additional debt obligations are not recorded for Medicare, Social Security and other entitlement programs.

Prager U - America's Debt Crises Explained

Do You Understand The Electoral College

A common discussion after some Presidential elections (and this year) is whether the Electoral College is an effective process to elect Presidents. Here are some Simple Facts:

1. The Constitution establishes the Electoral College; it is the Supreme law of the US.
2. The Electoral College has been in place since the founding of the Country in 1786 (230 years).
3. If citizens don't like it, citizens may AMEND the Constitution.
4. Protesters who engage in violence and anarchy, you will go to Jail.
5. The purpose of the Electoral College was to protect smaller states from tyranny of large states.

If you want to learn something, read/watch the following essays about the reasons for the Electoral College.

Prager U - The Electoral College

WSJ - Excellent Electoral College (may require subscription)

Storing Nuclear Waste In America

In the Wall Street Journal November 15, 2016, an article discussed the political stonewalling of a number of issues including how do we store nuclear waste. The following article describes the issue over the years and the need to make policy decisions. This is one of many issues that languished in an era that doing nothing was preferable to making important decisions.

Wired.Com - Storing Nuclear Waste

Where Does One Vote Have the Greatest Impact on The Electoral College?

Courtesy of Tim Spinner - Decatur IL
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So the results are in. If you had to choose a state where your vote would have the greatest impact on the Electoral College where would you go? To determine this I took a look at each individual states, how many votes were cast for President - including all the candidates, major and 3rd parties - and divided that total by the number of Electoral College votes each state received. The fewer votes it takes to get one electoral college vote, the greater the impact the voters of that state have on the Electoral College.

Charter Schools Do Make a Difference - New York Times

"Charter schools — public schools that operate outside the normal system — have become a quarrelsome subject, of course, alternately hailed as saviors and criticized as an overrated fad. Away from the fights, however, social scientists have quietly spent years analyzing the outcomes of students who attend charter schools.

The findings are stark. And while they occasionally pop up in media coverage and political debates about charter schools, they do not get nearly enough attention. The studies should be at the center of any discussion of educational reform, because they offer by far the clearest evidence about which parts of it are working and which are not.

The briefest summary is this: Many charter schools fail to live up to their promise, but one type has repeatedly shown impressive results."

New York Times - Charter Schools that Work

Rulers of Democracy - Convention of the States