Showing archive for: “Tax”
The Latest Front in the Patent Wars: Attacking Innovation in Universities
It’s not quite so simple to spur innovation. Just ask the EU as it resorts to levying punitive retroactive taxes on productive American companies in order to ostensibly level the playing field (among other things) for struggling European startups. Thus it’s truly confusing when groups go on a wholesale offensive against patent rights — one ... The Latest Front in the Patent Wars: Attacking Innovation in Universities
The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
It appears that White House’s zeal for progressive-era legal theory has … progressed (or regressed?) further. Late last week President Obama signed an Executive Order that nominally claims to direct executive agencies (and “strongly encourages” independent agencies) to adopt “pro-competitive” policies. It’s called Steps to Increase Competition and Better Inform Consumers and Workers to Support ... The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the EU’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation
Nearly all economists from across the political spectrum agree: free trade is good. Yet free trade agreements are not always the same thing as free trade. Whether we’re talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative, the question is always whether the agreement in question is reducing barriers to ... The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the EU’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation
New Heritage Foundation Publication on Saving Internet Freedom
Yesterday the Heritage Foundation released a series of essays on “Saving Internet Freedom.” These analytical essays are an excellent reference work for interested members of the public who seek answers to those who claim the Internet requires new and intrusive government regulation. The introduction to the essays highlights the topics they cover and summarizes their ... New Heritage Foundation Publication on Saving Internet Freedom
FTC Staff Report on Google: Much Ado About Nothing
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the FTC Bureau of Competition staff report to the commissioners in the Google antitrust investigation recommended that the Commission approve an antitrust suit against the company. While this is excellent fodder for a few hours of Twitter hysteria, it takes more than 140 characters to delve into the ... FTC Staff Report on Google: Much Ado About Nothing
From the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014, on Crony Capitalism
My son Joe and I have an op-ed in today’s WSJ that should stir up some controversy. Opinion Wall Street Journal The Case for Crony Capitalism Many government regulations choke off entirely legal avenues of potential bank profits. By Paul H. Rubin And Joseph S. Rubin July 7, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET Economics has a ... From the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014, on Crony Capitalism
My Con Law Prof Flubs the Constitution…Again.
Once again, my constitutional law professor has embarrassed me with his gross misunderstanding of the U.S. Constitution. First, he insisted that it would be “unprecedented” for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a statute enacted by a “democratically elected Congress.” Seventh-grade Civics students know that’s not right, but Mr. Obama’s misstatement did have its intended ... My Con Law Prof Flubs the Constitution…Again.
My Hip Saga and How the Affordable Care Act Squandered Our Best Opportunity to Lower Health Care Costs
After two years of nagging and increasingly worse hip and leg pain, I learned last August (at age forty) that I have a congenital hip deformity and need to have both hips replaced. In planning for this surgery, I’ve witnessed first-hand a problem that is driving American health care costs through the roof and is exacerbated by ... My Hip Saga and How the Affordable Care Act Squandered Our Best Opportunity to Lower Health Care Costs
Zeke Emanuel on the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem and Solutions to It
Ezekiel Emanuel, Rahm’s brother and former health care adviser to President Obama, acknowledges in today’s Wall Street Journal that adverse selection may prove to be a “bump in the road” in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But never you mind. He’s got solutions. And, as usual, they all come down to messaging. Emanuel describes ... Zeke Emanuel on the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem and Solutions to It
Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
As Democrats insist that income taxes on the 1% must go up in the name of fairness, one Democratic Senator wants to make sure that the 1% of heaviest Internet users pay the same price as the rest of us. It’s ironic how confused social justice gets when the Internet’s involved. Senator Ron Wyden is ... Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
Do Your Low-Wage Employees a Favor: Drop Their Health Care Coverage
Another day, another (presumably) unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act. (I say presumably because there’s a plausible theory out there that the Act was engineered to fail and thereby pave the way for a single-payer health care system. I’m not cynical enough to embrace that view, though a close look at the Act reveals design flaws so ... Do Your Low-Wage Employees a Favor: Drop Their Health Care Coverage
NPR’s List of Policies Economists Love
The NPR put together a panel of economists with various political and ideological views to see what economists agree on. (HT: Mankiw) Here is the list: One: Eliminate the mortgage tax deduction, which lets homeowners deduct the interest they pay on their mortgages. Gone. After all, big houses get bigger tax breaks, driving up prices for ... NPR’s List of Policies Economists Love
