Showing archive for: “Tax”
Why Premium Subsidies and the “Employer Mandate” Won’t Solve the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem
A couple of weeks ago, I argued that the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act will ultimately doom the Act to failure. The problem, I argued, is that the ACA’s guaranteed issue and community rating provisions create a perverse incentive for young, healthy people not to buy insurance until they ... Why Premium Subsidies and the “Employer Mandate” Won’t Solve the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem
Broken Tax Promises
Remember this? How about this?: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You were against the individual mandate… PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes. STEPHANOPOULOS: …during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t. How is that not a tax? OBAMA: Well, hold on a second, George. Here — here’s what’s happening. You ... Broken Tax Promises
Joking about politics
On November 3rd, the president of the United States spoke at the Hotel Lowry in St. Paul, Minnesota, in what was billed repeatedly as a bi-partisan address. The president ridiculed reactionaries in Congress who he claimed represented the wealthy and the powerful, and whose “theory seems to be that if these groups are prosperous, they ... Joking about politics
More Bailout Fallout: Non-buyer’s Remorse
An interesting story in the WSJ Online today about American International Group (AIG)’s use of a standard tax write-off and the political firestorm it is creating…all because the Washington establishment thought it could hide behind semantics during the bailout era. The benefits at issue were accrued by AIG as it amassed record losses amid the ... More Bailout Fallout: Non-buyer’s Remorse
Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
Last week Thom posted about the government’s attempt to hide the cost of taxes and regulatory fees in commercial airfares. Apparently Spirit Airlines is highlighting another government-imposed cost of doing business by advertising a new $2/ticket fee that the airline has imposed. According a CNN report yesterday: Spirit Airlines says a new federal regulation aimed ... Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
“Protecting” Consumers from the Truth About the Cost of Government
A new rule kicks in today requiring airlines to include all taxes and mandatory fees in their advertised fares. The rule, part of a broader “passengers’ bill of rights”-type regulation promulgated by the Department of Transportation, is being sold as a proconsumer mandate: It purportedly protects consumers from the sticker shock that results when they ... “Protecting” Consumers from the Truth About the Cost of Government
Krugman on private equity
Paul Krugman, writing in Thursday’s NYT, sees Romney as a real life version of Oliver Stone’s Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street. He characterizes Romney and his private equity ilk as job-destroyers, and argues that they should be taxed (and presumably also regulated) accordingly. He contrasts this with the supposed position of the GOP ... Krugman on private equity
The Bulldozer Solution to the Housing Crisis
My inaugural blog on two-sided markets did not elicit much reaction from TOTM readers. Perhaps it was too boring. In a desperate attempt to generate a hostile comment from at least one housing advocate, I have decided to advocate bulldozing homes in foreclosure as one (of several) means to relieve the housing crisis. Not with ... The Bulldozer Solution to the Housing Crisis
The cash hoarding problem and some solutions
As I discussed last May, corporations are hoarding cash. According to today’s WSJ, they’re still hoarding cash. Mira Ganor writes, in Agency Costs in the Era of Economic Crisis, that it could be about CEO compensation. Here’s the abstract: This Article reports results of an empirical study that suggests that the current economic crisis has ... The cash hoarding problem and some solutions
The Law and Economics Revolution in Securities Law, Part V
Law Review Editors…take note. You may get an opportunity to catch this one in February if you play your cards right. I’ve been blogging updates of my research for a new article developing what the economic analysis provisions of the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 requires of new SEC rulemaking. Blog colleague Prof. ... The Law and Economics Revolution in Securities Law, Part V
The problem of the corporate tax
John Steele Gordon, writing in the WSJ, peels the corporate veil away from Warren Buffett’s tax situation: Warren Buffett recently claimed that he had paid only $6.9 million in taxes last year. But Berkshire Hathaway, of which Mr. Buffett owns 30%, paid $5.6 billion in corporate income taxes. Were Berkshire Hathaway a Subchapter S corporation ... The problem of the corporate tax
Obama’s Fatal Conceit
From the beginning of his presidency, I’ve wanted President Obama to succeed. He was my professor in law school, and while I frequently disagreed with his take on things, I liked him very much. On the eve of his inauguration, I wrote on TOTM that I hoped he would spend some time meditating on Hayek’s ... Obama’s Fatal Conceit
