Strange Legacy

Most politicians do something during their term in office that makes such an impression that it is the one thing you think of when recalling that person. It sticks with them for the rest of their lives. For Dan Quayle, it was spelling potato. For Bill Clinton, it was his famous speech lying about his relationship with Monica. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill’s legacy seems destined to be as a U2 groupie, which is rather odd for a financial person. As is their duty, the editorial cartoonists are having a great time with this.

KMK

No Tears for O�Neill

It has been hard to take seriously a Treasury Secretary who has nothing better to do with his time than fly around the world with an Irish rock star discussing how much USA taxpayers should give away to ungrateful third world countries. Maybe Bush can find a replacement who will work on fixing the insane tax system we have to cope with.

KMK

Dividend Reform

Let’s hope Bush is able to eliminate double taxation of corporate profits. That would change some of the dynamics of corporate finance, as pointed out by Larry Kudlow.

As much as I’d like to see a serious move to true capitalism, and the elimination of all taxes on dividend income, I’m not optimistic that such a drastic change will fly with the people who believe that only evil rich people receive dividends. What we are more likely to see is a return of something that I can remember from my earliest days in the tax business. Back in the mid 1970s when I started, each person was allowed up to $100 per year of dividends tax free.

KMK

Short Memories

What a surprise. Not a word during the campaigns about raising taxes and then once the polls close it’s a mad rush to see how many taxes can be added and jacked up.

Our rulers know that they are safe from any voter backlash because the next elections are two years away and the collective memory of the populace is about two weeks, at most. What would be great for this country is a little Instant Karma for our rulers. No more waiting until the next formal election to punish them. As soon as they try to raise taxes, we start a recall or impeachment drive.

KMK

Don’t Be A Chump

Here’s a good summary of some of the most common work at home scams. Many of them are the same. You pay some scamsters for their “secret formula” to solicit other suckers to pay you that very same “secret formula.” Can anyone say pyramid scheme?

KMK

Misery Loves Company

Some other countries think that the USA has an unfair advantage on the world market because we have lower tax rates than they have. Just as with the similar argument that we should be willing to pay four dollars a gallon for gas because that’s what they pay in Europe, the answer to the disparity in tax rates is for us to raise ours, not for them to cut theirs. Luckily for us, our ancestors fought a war 226 years ago to detach ourselves from having to take any orders from the Europeans. If they want to continue destroying their society with expensive socialist programs, that’s their right to do. However, we have the right to ignore their advice and learn from their stupid mistakes.

KMK

Taxes Do Affect Behavior

Walter Williams has a good illustration of how ridiculous those people are who claim that changes in taxes have no effect on behavior. Unfortunately, almost all of our rulers use the unrealistic static analysis when setting policies, which is why they are never accurate in any of their predictions.

KMK