In Economic Woes 04-07

VATs suck because they hide the taxation by embedding the tax into the sales price. My husband's friends always complain that they "pay extra" at the cashier when the sales tax is added on. We explain that our sales taxes range from 5% to 9% depending on location where the EU (hidden) VAT (aka sales tax) is 17% and they still pay income tax too. VAT should be fought tooth and nail here in the states. The only way I'd ever tolerate a VAT is if the tax rate was set and could not be raised without a 2/3 majority vote in both houses AND if the Federal Income Tax was permanently abolished. Permanently. How America might get a VAT of its own And Obama Economic Adviser Says U.S. Should Consider 'Value Added Tax'

Heritage Employment Report: March Jobs Report Springs Forward



Teens Face Jobless Crisis

We Call That Ignorance



IRS Launches New Global Program to Target ‘High Wealth Individuals' Sadly this does not effect me. More sadly it will negatively impact the US economy.

Obama's Capital Gain Hypocrisy



This is a textbook case on how Unions have evolved from friend of the worker to a succubus draining the economy of life. California's $500-billion pension time bomb. The staggering amount of unfunded debt stands to crowd out funding for many popular programs. Reform will take something sadly lacking in the Legislature: political courage. AND Half Trillion Gap in California Pensions Found

Moody's Cuts LA Credit Rating, Warns of More Downgrades

L.A. mayor calls for temporary shutdowns of some agencies



How Much Taxation Is Enough?

Why Don't Pro-Tax Taxpayers Pay More Taxes?

Let's Outlaw YOUR Business Next. First they came for the student loan providers, and I did nothing ...



Inflation worries AND Inflation Is Already Roaring Back

Federal Ownership of US Debt Grows.

GOP Still Waiting to See Real Financial Reform

The Invention of Pop Economics. Joseph Stiglitz should win a second Nobel Prize, this time for fiction.

What Can 23 States Gain from Offshore Drilling?



IRA Charitable Rollovers: A Question of Timing

Side Effects: New Tanning Tax Burns Business Owners

Out of Control

Yes We Can ... Walk Away from Bad Mortgages: Roger Lowenstein Blames the Banks

Bernanke: Housing, Jobs Biggest Economic Hurdles. Ya think?

Bank Secrets and Size



The Dodd Bill: Bailouts Forever. The Lehman Brothers liquidation shows that bankruptcy works fine. The FDIC has no experience with such large institutions.

Saving States from Themselves